Son of Dracula
by KATTALNUVA
Summary: A few months after the Ceremonial Battle, the illegitimate son of the infamous Count Dracula and ruler of the shadow games in 15th century Romania has come to Domino City to wreack his horrible vengence.
1. Nightfall

**Introduction**

**The world is filled with legends; stories that help us make sense of things too great… or too terrifying to believe. Individuals whose lives soar to the heavens… or fall to the earth. This is the legend of the son of Dracula.**

** In the year 1462, nine years after the fall of Constantinople, Muslim Turks swept into Europe threatening all of Christendom. The only thing standing against the invading Muslims was the chivalric Order of the Dragon, a group of European nobles who had sworn to defend the church from all its enemies. From the order arose a Romanian knight known as Prince Vlad III, to some he was known as ****Dracula which means son of the dragon or demon. Dracula was known for his campaigns against the Muslims and for the unspeakable punishments he inflicted during his reign.**

** At some point the Romanian Prince fathered an illegitimate son who after his father's death came to learn of his noble heritage. Seeking revenge on the Turks who had killed his father the boy traveled to the land of Egypt and learned of the Shadow Games. Upon mastering the Shadow Games he waged war with the Turks to avenge his father using monsters he had summoned from the Shadow Realm as his own private army. The Turks were no match for the Prince's army of Shadow creatures, but the boy's bloodlust was insatiable. He butchered people over the most trivial things. The things he did angered God, who placed upon the boy a terrible curse. He was stripped of his humanity, living beyond the grace of God, dead but not dead, damned to walk the earth forever.**

**The thing about legends is… sometimes… they're true.**

**(The Part about Prince Vlad III is historical fact, but everything about his illegitimate son is just stuff I made up for the purposes of this fanfiction)**

It was a dark and stormy night in Domino city. The storm seemed to come out of nowhere. Outside the city limits in an old cemetery a single person walked across the ancient weathered graves hauling a huge coffin. This person was Bandit Keith. He had just returned from Romania. Maximillion Pegasus had been there on one of his expeditions and Keith had seen it as the perfect chance to get his revenge, but something had happened there, ever since then Keith's mind was clear. He had only one function, to serve and protect his new master. He carried the coffin into the old crypt on the south end of the cemetery and placed it on the ground.

"Wakey, wake. It's nighty night, you have places to be, people to bite."

The coffin slowly creaked open and a tall pale figure with long gray hair and scarlet eyes emerged from it. Regardless of the ghastly colors of his hair and skin he didn't look any older than a man in his early twenties. Yet when he spoke his voice was little more then a whisper.

"Take me to this… Kaiba Corp you spoke of."

"Yes master."

**(Keith isn't a vampire, he's like Reinfield from Bram Stroker's novel)**

Keith led his new master across the soaked streets of Domino to the Kaiba Corp headquarters. It had become apparent that much had changed in the world during his… absence, and the Shadow Games were no exception. Today the monsters were summoned by something created by this… Kaiba Corp. He didn't have the means to create his own monsters this way, but he was certain that this Seto Kaiba person would be willing to help him… if properly persuaded.

"Something tells me Kaiba won't just answer to anybody that asks to see him." said Keith.

"I always get what I want my good and faithful servant… One way or another. If I can't get in to see this Mr. Kaiba, I'll just have to flush him out."

Instantly two huge bat like wings burst out of his back and he flew up to the top of the building. There he let out a high pitched screech. Within moments something that sounded like leather-bound bibles opening and closing in rapid succession could be heard. Soon in the distance through the rain thousands of bats came flying out of nowhere, enough to envelop the entire Kaiba Corp building.

"Yugi… Yugi!"

Yugi Muto saw a knight in shining armor that looked a lot like him fighting a creature that looked like a cross between a human and bat. Then he heard Atem's voice.

"Wake up Yugi! You're the only one… The fate of the world depends on you… Time is short… Hurry! Get up now! Yugi!"

Yugi woke up. It was still night and it was still raining.

"That same dream again…"

A few months had passed since the Ceremonial Battle. There had been no incidents since then. Yugi thought his life would finally return to normality. But it seemed that wasn't the case.

At that moment the phone started ringing.

"Who would be calling at this hour?"

Yugi answered the phone.

"Hello…"

"Yugi! We're in trouble!"

"Tea?"

"Yug! It's Kaiba! He's gone totally wacko!"

"Hello Yugi…"

"Kaiba! Where are my friends?"

"Meet me at the duel dome in 10 minutes and bring your cards…"

Then the line went dead.


	2. Kaiba's Revenge

Yugi ran across the soaked streets of Domino city to the Kaiba Corp duel dome. It was late into the night and it was still pouring down rain, and now there was an eerie chill in the air.

"Kaiba… what could that spoiled rich pansy have in mind?"

Ever since their first duel Kaiba had given Yugi no rest. He had become obsessed with trying to defeat him in a duel so he could regain his title as the number one duelist. But kidnapping Yugi's friends was crossing the line. He entered the duel dome and rode the elevator to the top. There stood Kaiba, oddly enough he was dressed head to toe in black and his face and hair looked a lot paler then usual.

"Ah Yugi, you made it…"

"Where are my friends!"

"Oh they're just fine… and I'll return them to you after we duel."

"He's caught up in his own little world, I have no choice." Yugi thought.

They both activated their duel disks and their life point totals went to 4000.

"Let's duel!"

Meanwhile high above the Kaiba dome a lone person was watching.

"Alright little Yugi, let's see what you're made of."

"The first turn belongs to me!" exclaimed Kaiba "I'll place one monster in defense mode and end my turn."

Yugi looked at the cards in his hand.

"Just a monster in defense mode? That's not like Kaiba… If I can destroy that monster then he's left himself defenseless." He thought.

"I summon Magical Exemplar!"

(ATK: 1700 DEF: 1400)

"Attack his face down monster!"

Magical Exemplar blasted Kaiba's face down monster with a burst of magical energy, and the monster revealed itself.

"No! It's a Giant Germ!"

Though the monster was destroyed Yugi was struck for 500 points of damage.

(Yugi: 3500)

"The first blood is mine, and that's not all… Thanks to Giant Germ's effect whenever it's destroyed in battle I can summon two more Giant Germs from my deck." said Kaiba.

(2x ATK: 1000 DEF: 100)

Kaiba now had two monsters on his side of the field. Yugi knew what use he would make of them. Luckily he had just the card in his hand to deal with it.

"I'll lay one card face down and end my turn."

"Good, now I can start ending you!"

Kaiba drew his card.

"I'll start by playing the spell card Mystical Space Typhoon, and I'll use it to destroy your facedown card!"

Yugi's Mirror Force was swept away just like that. His Magical Exemplar was defenseless.

"And now I'll sacrifice my two Giant Germs to summon my good and loyal servant! The Blue Eyes White Dragon!"

(ATK: 3000 DEF: 2500)

Kaiba's Blue Eyes descended from the sky and landed behind him.

"Yes, the monster that has been the bane of your dueling career since out first match. And now the card that will seal your doom! THE CURSE OF NOSFERATU!"

"There's no such card Kaiba!"

"I beg to differ…"

Kaiba placed the card in his duel disk and it appeared on the field. The picture on it looked like a skull with fangs.

Suddenly Kaiba's Blue Eyes started to change color, its eyes turned scarlet, and some of its razor sharp teeth turned into fangs.

"The Curse of Nosferatu turns all my monsters into vampires… and their attack points increase by 500."

(ATK: 3500)

"Blue Eyes Vampire Dragon, destroy Yugi's Magical Exemplar with Crimson Lightening!"

The Blue Eyes opened it's mouth and fired a huge burst of crimson energy that incinerated Yugi's Magical Exemplar.

(Yugi: 1700)

Suddenly Yugi started to feel like he was being drained somehow. But he shook it off.

"This time I'm out for blood Yugi…"

There wasn't a single card in Yugi's hand that could destroy Kaiba's Blue Eyes Vampire Dragon. But he could stop it from reaching his life points.

"First I summon Blockman!"

(ATK: 1000 DEF: 1500)

"Now I'll activate my Swords of Revealing Light!"

Several luminous swords fell from the sky and cut off Yugi and his monsters from Kaiba's.

"Now you will be unable to attack me for three whole turns!"

Kaiba started laughing; Yugi could almost swear he saw fangs in his mouth.

"You're the second duelist I've fought tonight, and your both pains in the neck! No matter… There are still plenty of other moves I can make… I summon Manju of the Ten Thousand Hands!"

(ATK: 1400 DEF: 1000)

"And because of the effect of The Curse of Nosferatu he becomes a Vampire and gains 500 attack points."

(ATK: 1900)

"But that's not important. His special ability allows me to take one ritual spell or monster card from my deck and add it to my hand. I choose White Dragon Ritual, and I'll use it to sacrifice my Manju to ritual summon Paladin of White Dragon."

(ATK: 1900 DEF: 1200)

But he won't be sticking around for long, because now I'll sacrifice him to summon another Blue Eyes White Dragon!"

(ATK: 3000 DEF: 2500)

"And because of the effect of The Curse of Nosferatu he becomes a vampire and gains 500 attack points."

(ATK: 3500)

"He keeps turning his monsters into vampires with this Curse of Nosferatu. I've never even heard of this card before."

Just then Yugi noticed something odd. The skin on his arm was turning pale; he started to feel drained again. He was becoming dizzy and nauseous. He knew it was late at night, but this wasn't regular exhaustion.

"Aw what's wrong?" asked Kaiba "Is the so called King of Games feeling a little under the weather?"

Yugi looked at the cards in his hand. There was nothing he could do.

"I pass."

"Very well, since I still can't attack I'll just summon Kaiser Sea Horse in attack mode!"

(ATK: 1700 DEF: 1650)

"And don't forget, thanks to The Curse of Nosferatu it becomes a vampire and gains 500 more attack points."

(ATK: 2300)

Summoning Kaiser Sea Horse could only mean one thing, but Yugi still didn't have any cards in his hand that could do anything about it.

"I… pass." he said weakly.

"You look like you're ready to pass out. But I don't really blame you, because now I sacrifice my Kaiser Sea Horse to summon my third Blue Eyes!"

Kaiba's third Blue Eyes appeared and because of the Curse of Nosferatu it's attack points increased.

(ATK: 3500)

"Well Yugi it's been three turns, so your Swords of Revealing Light now disappear. Hope your hand is hot."

The card Yugi drew was Magical Dimension. With this spell card he could offer a Spellcaster monster from his side of the field to special summon a spellcaster from his hand and destroy one monster on the field. But he didn't have any spellcaster monsters on his side of the field, and the only spellcaster in his hand was the Mystical Elf, and even if he could destroy one of Kaiba's Blue Eyes he would still have two left. The only thing he could do was keep them from attacking his life points.

"I activate Blockman's special ability! Since he's been on the field for four turns I can sacrifice him to summon four Block Tokens!"

(4x ATK: 1000 DEF: 1500)

"I see, since you have four monsters in play you think I'll need four monsters to destroy them, but all I need is this one card, Burst Stream of Destruction! Since I have Blue Eyes White Dragon on my side of the field I can use this to destroy all the monsters you have out!"

One of Kaiba's Blue Eyes Vampire Dragons fired a huge burst of energy that destroyed all of Yugi's Block Tokens.

"Because I played Burst Stream of Destruction none of my Blue Eyes' can attack this turn, but I can easily remedy that with this card, Polymerization! Which I will use to fuse my three great beasts together to summon the Blue Eyes Ultimate Dragon!"

(ATK: 4500 DEF: 3800)

"And because of the effect of The Curse of Nosferatu it becomes a vampire and gains 500 attack points!"

(ATK: 5000)

"I've been waiting a long time for this moment Yugi. My dragon is going to blast you back to the minor leagues where you belong! Ever since our first match I've dreamed of the day I'd finally defeat you and resume my rightful place as the world's number one ranked duelist! And it's finally come to fruition! Blue Eyes Ultimate Vampire Dragon, attack Yugi directly with Crimson Neutron Blast!"

A huge crimson blast erupted from each of the dragon's individual heads that they converged into one single attack that blasted Yugi, but when the smoke cleared his life points were untouched.

"WHAT!"

"Sorry Kaiba, but by discarding Kuriboh from my hand to my graveyard I can reduce all the damage inflicted by your Blue Eyes to 0."

"You're only delaying the inevitable Yugi… You may have defeated me before, oh wait I forgot… You never beat me… You were sitting on the sidelines while your precious friend the Pharaoh took care of everything… But now you're all alone… Without the Pharaoh you're nothing but a pretender."

"Pretender? You seem to forget Kaiba… I beat the Pharaoh… and he had the power of all three Egyptian god cards behind him… And I still beat him…"

"Maybe… But your precious friend the Pharaoh wouldn't be on his knees right now."

Yugi didn't know what was going on… he felt so weak… he was turning as pale as a ghost… the whole world was spinning.

"Is this duel too much for you? Face it Yugi… without your little friend you're in way over your head."

Yugi knew he had only one chance. He had to draw the right card right now if he wanted to have any chance at winning this duel. He drew his card, when he looked at it he felt a sudden rush of strength run through him and smiled, he could almost swear he saw his card wink at him.

"I summon the Mystical Elf!"

(ATK: 800 DEF: 2000)

"Now I activate the spell card Magical Dimension! By sacrificing one spellcaster on my side of the field I can destroy one of your monsters!"

Kaiba's dragon went up in smoke.

"NO! MY ULTIMATE DRAGON!"

"And that's… not all… Now I can special summon a spellcaster type monster from my hand… And I choose… The Dark Magician Girl!"

(ATK: 2000 DEF: 1700)

"Dark Magician Girl attack… ugh… Attack Kaiba directly!"

The Dark Magician Girl blasted Kaiba.

(Kaiba: 2000)

"And I'll end my turn by placing one card face… ugh… facedown."

Kaiba glared angrily at Yugi.

"You may have destroyed my best monster, and you may have your little girlfriend on the field protecting you… But you're still doomed. First I'll play the spell card Pot of Greed and draw two more cards! Next I'll lay one card face down and summon Penten the Dark Clown!"

(ATK: 500 DEF: 1200)

"And don't forget, thanks to the Curse of Nosferatu it becomes a vampire, and it's attack points are increased by 500!"

(ATK: 1000)

"Penten the Dark Clown? Even with the Curse of Nosferatu Kaiba knows the Dark Magician Girl has more then enough attack points to… wait… I know what he's doing…Sorry Kaiba, as weak as I feel right now; I'm still not going to fall for that trick of yours again."

Yugi drew his card.

"I play Sage's Stone! When the Dark Magician Girl is in play I can use Sage's Stone to summon… oh my… to summon the Dark Magician!"

(ATK: 2500 DEF: 2100)

"You just triggered my trap! The Crush Card Virus! By sacrificing one dark monster on my side of the field with 1000 attack points or less I can…"

"Not so fast Kaiba! You just triggered my own trap card! Seven Tools of the Bandit! By paying 1000 life points I can negate the activation of one of your trap cards and destroy it!"

(Yugi: 700)

Kaiba's Crush Card was destroyed, suddenly…

"AAAGH!"

Yugi felt a sharp jolt of pain in his neck; he could feel blood running down the side of it.

"Dark Magician attack… Attack his Dark Clown!"

The Dark Magician blasted Kaiba's clown with it's Dark Magic attack.

(Kaiba: 500)

Kaiba didn't use Penten's effect to summon another one, because it wouldn't have made any difference.

"Dark Magician Girl attack… attack…"

Yugi's world was getting hazy… He was barely breathing… He couldn't even stand up… He was on his knees supported only by one hand on the ground.

"Attack… Attack Kaiba's… Attack…"

The Dark Magician Girl just looked worryingly at him.

"I'm fine… Attack Kaiba's life points directly…"

The Dark Magician Girl turned and blasted Kaiba."

(Kaiba: 0)

Though the duel was over the Dark Magician Girl didn't disappear. She knelt down beside Yugi and took him in her arms. He was turning as pale as a ghost, his pulse was dropping, and he was barely breathing. Kaiba just stood there on the other side of the arena.

"You just couldn't let me win… So… this is what happens when an unstoppable force meets an immoveable object… I think you and I were destined to do this forever… It's too bad I'll have to cut our life long rivalry short."

Kaiba started to advance towards Yugi. There was no mistaking it now, he had fangs and his eyes were scarlet. The Dark Magician Girl raised her staff ready to attack when suddenly.

"GET BACK!"

Some man in a raincoat came out from behind them and held out a golden crucifix in front of Kaiba. Kaiba hissed at the sight of it.

"Back unholy demon of the night!"

Kaiba recognized the man's face.

"Aren't you retired?"

The man's response was a small vial of liquid that he opened and hurled at Kaiba. When the liquid made contact it felt like he was on fire.

"YAAAAAAAGGGGHHHHH!"

"The power of Christ compels you! The power of Christ compels you!"

Two huge bat like wings burst out of Kaiba's back and he flew away. The man turned to Yugi, The Dark Magician Girl was still cradling him in her arms.

"We'll take it from here."

Some how she knew he was telling the truth. She disappeared back into Yugi's deck. The man checked Yugi's vital signs.

"He's still alive… Thank God."

Another man came running up to him.

"Mr. Pegasus! We found his friends, they're alive."

"Good." replied Pegasus "Bring the cars around, this boy needs medical attention now!"


	3. The Story of Prince Vlad

"The Dark Magician Girl came to his aid in person… There is no doubt in my mind now… He is a descendant of my ancient enemy."

"Trust me master, Yugi Muto may talk the talk, but he has none of your mojo." said Keith.

"I underestimated my enemies once before… And I paid for it dearly… I can ill afford to make the same mistake again."

"He's just a boy… And the Pharaoh can no longer help him." said Kaiba.

"He beat you… And monsters come to his aid… But he must have a weakness… Everyone does."

"His friends…" replied Kaiba "That's the key… Without them he'll break like an egg."

"Wha… Where am I?"

When Yugi woke up he had no idea where he was. He was lying in bed somewhere with all this medical equipment around. The entire room smelled like garlic. A moment after he had awoken he was nearly smothered by Tea.

"Yugi! Oh thank God you're okay!"

"Tea… can't… breathe…"

"Oh… Sorry."

"Guys, what happened last night?"

"Well… First we got kidnapped by Kaiba so he could challenge you to a duel, then we get locked up beneath the duel dome." said Joey.

"Yeah, then we get rescued by Pegasus' goons, and they tell us that you were near death, they bring us here to his penthouse and give you a blood transfusion." said Tristan.

"Pegasus?"

"Yes me Yugi boy. Fortunately for you I know a thing or two about vampires."

"Vampires?"

"Yes, Seto Kaiba is now serving the un-dead."

"Care to explain?" asked Joey.

"Not long ago I discovered that the game of duel monsters had a place in 15th century Romania, the Shadow Games were studied by the illegitimate son of Price Vlad III."

"The Impaler?"

"Yes."

"Am I the only one who's lost here?" asked Joey.

"You're not the only one." replied Tristan.

"Honestly didn't either of you ever listen in school?" asked Tea.

"You already know the answer to that."

"Prince Vlad III was a Romanian prince from the 15th century and was the primary inspiration for the antagonist of Bram Stoker's novel Dracula."

"So why do they call him the Impaler?" asked Joey.

"Because he was a blood thirsty butcher, who inflicted unspeakable torture on the peasants and on his enemies, primarily Muslim Turks. Cutting off their heads, drinking their blood, and impaling them on iron spikes." said Pegasus.

"Sorry I asked."

"So anyway, some time after his death his illegitimate son Prince Vlad IV came to learn of his noble heritage and sought revenge on the Turks responsible for his father's murder. He heard of the Shadow Games and traveled to Egypt to learn more. Soon he returned to wreak vengeance on the Muslim Turks with his newfound army of shadow monsters that he had learned to summon. The Turks were no match for his monsters, but the bloodlust of Prince Vlad was insatiable… He butchered people over the most trivial things… Even worse then his father… The things he did angered God, so he placed upon the prince a terrible curse… he would be punished for eternity."

"Punished how?"

"He lived outside the grace of God, dead but not dead, vampyr, nosferatu, in other words… A vampire."

"An actual vampire?" asked Tea.

"Yes."

"What happened to him?' asked Yugi.

"He continued to strike terror throughout the land, feasting on the blood of the living, until news of his reign of terror reached Egypt, then he was hunted down by one of the descendants of Atem."

"Wait a minute. Atem wasn't married. How could he have descendants?" asked Joey.

"Well… During one of my expeditions to Egypt I found this."

"What is it?" asked Tea.

"These are photo copies of what we believe to be the Pharaoh's personal journal. It says that one day when he was still the prince his eyes were attracted to one of the royal dancers by the name of Teana. He says she was the most beautiful girl he had ever laid his eyes upon, and one night he called her to his chamber… I'm pretty sure you know what that implies."

"Whoa! Too much information! More then I wanted to know…" replied Tristan.

"Anyway… The descendants of Atem journeyed to Transylvania and branded together with the locals to destroy Prince Vlad. They called on the Pharaoh's monsters to help defeat Prince Vlad's army of Shadow Creatures. In the end there was a heated battle between Prince Vlad and the Pharaoh's closest living blood descendant. Prince Vlad was run through on a silver sword that was laced in garlic. His remains were then buried deep beneath the earth."

"What does this have to do with Kaiba turning into a vampire?" asked Tea.

"Prince Vlad has returned. See when I heard the story myself I traveled to Romania to see if I could find some surviving relics that would allow me make some of his creatures into cards for the game. Eventually I found his lost tomb… When I couldn't find anything anywhere else I looked inside the coffin, naturally after hundreds of years all that we found on the inside was bones and whatever was left of his organs, but when I opened it I cut myself on something, a few drops of my blood trickled down to the place where his heart would be… the next thing I knew his body started to rejuvenate.

"Let me guess. Next you ran like hell." said Joey.

"Yes…"

"But why would a vampire come all the way from Romania to Domino city?" asked Tea.

"Two reasons, He was the ruler of the Shadow Games in 15th century Romania. The Shadow Games have changed since then, that's why he attacked Kaiba. Second, Yugi is the spitting image of the one who originally destroyed him; my guess is he's come here for revenge. Even worse since Kaiba is now a vampire he'll feed just like his new master, and then so will all his victims…"

"Until Domino city has a plague on its hands." said Tristan.

"Precisely… Which is why we need to destroy Prince Vlad before that happens."

"Pegasus… Last night during the duel I…"

"You felt like you were getting the life sucked out of you. That's Prince Vlad's most powerful spell, The Curse of Nosferatu."

"That's the name of a card Kaiba used…"

"I'm not surprised. As you know back in the days of the Shadow Games they didn't use life points. Prince Vlad's most powerful spell, The Curse of Nosferatu, would drain his victims of their blood whenever they fought."

"But that's impossible, if Yugi had lost over 75% of his blood last night we wouldn't be talking to him right now." said Tea.

"It doesn't just happen as soon as you lose life points. It happens slowly, Prince Vlad likes to enjoy his drinks."

"Gees…"

"I'm going to stop this vampire but I may need your help…"

"Well I'm not going to just sit around while my city is turned into a city of the undead!" said Joey.

"But Joey we don't know anything about hunting vampires." said Tea.

"I can help you with that." replied Pegasus.

Pegasus opened a black case that was laid on the table.

"Whoa! Are those G18s?" asked Joey.

**(For those of you who don't know a G18 is an automatic handgun)**

"Yes, and these are silver bullets that have been laced in garlic with crucifixes carved into them."

"I thought silver bullets were used to kill werewolves." said Tristan.

"Works just fine on vampires."

"I'm not carrying one of these, I hate guns." said Tea.

"Would you rather carry a silver bladed dagger? Just so you know that means you would have to get close to the vampire."

"Give me the gun." replied Tea.

"Now which form of protection do you want to wear? The crucifix or the garlic necklace?"

Unsurprisingly they all picked the crucifix.

"Don't forget to take some garlic bombs and some holy water with you in case you need a quick escape."

"So what do we do now?"

"My men are searching the city for Prince Vlad; hopefully they'll be able to find him before sunset."

"Don't worry Mr. Pegasus. We'll find that ghoul faster then Garfield finds lasagna."

"While you're at it find Duke Devlin… We're going to need all the help we can get."


	4. A Sadistic Choice

For three straight days it rained. Yugi had recovered from his duel with Kaiba, but every night they went to Pegasus' penthouse to be safe from Prince Vlad. Every day more and more reports of missing people came on the news. Pegasus was sure that the missing people were victims of the Prince. Pegasus' men still hadn't found the Prince's hiding place. On the third day Tea had gone to one of her dance lessons and Joey was supposed to pick up Serenity who was coming to visit… But Joey never showed to pick her up, and Tea never made it home.

"Vampires?" asked Serenity.

"I know it's a little far fetched Serenity, but after all the crazy stuff I've seen over the years, vampires don't seem so fictional anymore." said Tristan.

"It couldn't have been the vampires." said Duke "They only come out at night, and Tea and Joey left their homes in broad daylight."

"Unless Prince Vlad's influence stretches further than we thought." said Pegasus.

Suddenly Yugi's cell phone started ringing.

"Hello?"

"Hello Yugi… My name is Prince Vlad."

"… How'd you get my number?"

"Are you kidding? It's the first number on your little girlfriend's list."

"… Where is she!"

"Tonight your friends are going to part of a little experiment… I want to know who is more important to you… You're best friend… or your girlfriend… They're both at two entirely different locations, and waiting with them is a duelist I have arranged for you. At midnight they will both become my eternal servants, if however you are able to defeat one of my duelist's I'll let that person live… So who's it going to be? Your loyal best friend, or the girl you're crazy about? You choose… Oh and you might want to decide quickly because you only have fifteen minutes. He's at the suspension bridge outside the city limits, and she's at the old theater on 666th street…"

After the line went dead Yugi told them everything.

"Let's split up, which one are you going after?" asked Tristan.

"Tea."

"Okay, we'll get Joey!" said Duke.

"I'm coming with you!"

"Serenity this is too dangerous."

"Tristan that's my brother out there!"

"Just put a crucifix around her neck and she'll be fine." said Pegasus.

Yugi and Pegasus went in one car to the old theater, while Tristan, Duke, and Serenity went for the old suspension bridge, both groups were being escorted by some of Pegasus' men. The theater had recently been condemned and was scheduled for demolition. As soon as they got there Yugi ran inside.

"TEA!"

Yugi had the G18 Pegasus had given him at the ready.

"Does it smell like gasoline in here or is that just me?" he thought.

He went into the ground floor of the theater which was filled with spider webs, and there was Tea chained to a chair and gagged on the stage. Yugi didn't make it far before he heard the sound of the doors slamming shut behind him.

"HA HA HA HA HA!"

Yugi recognized that laugh, and it made his blood boil.

"You didn't think I'd stay gone forever did you? You should know by now I'm like a cockroach on steroids."

"Where are you? Weevil!"

"I'm right here Yugi, or should I call you pretender?"

Weevil emerged out of the shadows blocking off the doors. His skin was pale, his hair had turned white, and beneath his glasses Yugi could see crimson eyes. He was a vampire.

"I used to be a champion… But when you defeated me at Duelist Kingdom all those years ago you made me look like a joke, and now I don't get any respect anymore! I'm the butt of everyone's jokes! But wait I forgot… You never beat me… All these years you've been hiding behind someone else… You don't deserve to be the King of Games… Without your little friend you're nothing but a big fat fake."

Yugi pointed his gun at Weevil.

"I wouldn't do that." he said.

Weevil pulled out a lit candle from behind his back.

"The floor is soaked in gasoline… You shoot me, I drop this, and we all go up."

Yugi just stood there for a moment considering the situation. Tea was still chained to the chair, but maybe he could just shoot the lock. Even so Weevil was blocking the only way out. But then Yugi realized something and smiled.

"What happens when that candle burns out?"

"Well let's see, that could take awhile… And don't you have to save your other friend?"

Yugi reluctantly lowered his weapon.

"What do you want?"

"I want to see how I would fair against the "real" Yugi Muto. If you win you and your little girlfriend are free to go… If I win I'll take my rightful place as the King of Games."

"I don't need Atem's help to beat trash like Weevil, even if he is a vampire." thought Yugi.

Yugi activated his duel disk.

"Very well."

"Let's duel!"

"The first turn belongs to me! I'll just lay one monster face down."

"Don't worry Tea. This won't take long." said Yugi.

"I summon Magician's Valkyria!"

(ATK: 1600 DEF: 1800)

"Destroy his face down monster!"

Yugi's Valkyria destroyed Weevil's face down monster, but then Yugi heard a horrible howling noise.

"What the heck is that?"

"That was my Howling Insect. When it's destroyed in battle I can summon an insect type monster from my deck with 1500 attack points or less. And I choose… Atomic Firefly!"

(ATK: 100 DEF: 200)

"Only 100 attack points? Maybe Weevil is planning to sacrifice it for something."

"Now it's my turn again pretender!"

Weevil drew his card.

"… I drew it… Now Yugi behold the card that will seal your doom and my rise to King of Games! The Curse of Nosferatu!"

Weevil had played the same terrifying spell card that Kaiba had played. Immediately the color of his Atomic Firefly turned paler and glowed a crimson red, and its attack points increased by 500.

"Next I'll lay one card face down, summon a monster in defense mode, and switch Atomic Firefly to defense mode. That ends my turn."

Yugi drew his card.

"I summon another Magician's Valkyria!"

(ATK: 1600 DEF: 1800)

"Now I'll have both of them attack!"

Both of Yugi's Valkyrias attacked Weevil's monsters, both of Weevil's monsters were destroyed but suddenly a burst of fire flew at Yugi and took 1000 of his life points. Also something had caused Weevil's life points to rise by 1000.

(Weevil: 5000)

(Yugi: 3000)

The Curse of Nosferatu was already taking effect, Yugi started to feel drained. If he didn't stop this soon he would lose at least one fourth of his blood.

"Wha… What just happened?"

"Don't you know anything? Oh I'm sorry; I forgot you're not as good as your old friend the Pharaoh. When my Atomic Firefly is destroyed it inflicts 1000 points of damage to the player that destroyed it. My other monster was Skull-Mark Ladybug, and when it's destroyed I gain 1000 life points. But I'm sure with your friend's help you would have been able to negate my monster's effects or even use them against me. Without him you're nothing but a total fake! And once I defeat you and become the new King of Games the whole world will know it!"

"You weren't there to see it Weevil, but I'll tell you. When I traveled to Egypt the Pharaoh and I engaged in a duel in order to set his spirit free. In order for him to rest in peace I had to defeat him in that duel. I was all by myself against him, and he had the three Egyptian god cards on his side… But I beat them all… He believed in me… And he taught me to believe in myself! And I don't need his help to beat scum like you! I end my turn by playing two cards face down!"

"Good, now I can start ending you!"

Weevil drew his card.

"Perfect! I'm more than aware that since you have two Valkyria's on your side of the field I can't attack any Spellcasters you put into play, so I'll activate this trap card, DNA Surgery! This let's me turn all the monsters in play into insects!"

Both of Yugi's Valkyrias grew antennae and huge insect like wings.

"Now I remove all three of the insects in my graveyard from play so I can special summon Aztekipede the Worm Warrior and Doom Dozer!"

(ATK: 1900 DEF: 400)

(ATK: 2800 DEF: 2600)

"And because of the Curse of Nosferatu they both become vampires and gain 500 attack points!"

(ATK: 2400)

(ATK: 3300)

"Aztekipede, attack and destroy his first Valkyria!"

"Not so fast Weevil! I reveal my face down trap, Magic Cylinder! This card takes your monster's attack and redirects it right back at your life points!"

The blast of Weevil's attack was captured by the magic cylinder and fired back at Weevil.

(Weevil: 2600)

"No matter, Doom Dozer destroy his Valkyria!"

"Sorry Weevil but I still have another trap, and it's one of my favorites… Go Mirror Force!"

The force of Doom Doozer's attack was reflected and destroyed it's self as well as Weevil's worm warrior.

"No! My beautiful vampire bugs! Without them I'm wide open for a direct attack! Wait… No I'm not… I play the spell card Insect Barrier! Since all your monster's are treated as insects thanks to my DNA Surgery trap card you can't attack!"

Yugi saw that his hand was starting to turn pale.

"Oh crud… I've got to end this duel before I lose any more blood. But I need to get by that insect barrier…"

Yugi drew his card.

"Perfect! I summon Breaker the Magical Warrior!"

(ATK: 1600 DEF: 1000)

"No! That's the card that the Pharaoh used to beat me the last time!" thought Weevil.

"As you know Weevil when Breaker the Magical Warrior is summoned I can place a spell counter on him so he gains an additional 300 attack points. But by getting rid of that spell counter and the attack boost I can destroy one spell or trap card you have on the field. And I choose your DNA Surgery!"

Breaker used his powers to destroy Weevil's card and all Yugi's monsters went back to being Spellcasters.

"Valkyrias, wipe out the rest of his life points!"

Both Yugi's Valkyrias attacked Weevil.

(Weevil: 0)

Outside from where he was watching, Prince Vlad growled in anger.

"I should've known that little maggot wasn't up to much."

Back inside Weevil started to laugh.

"I may not have defeated you Yugi… But I can still eliminate you!"

Two huge bat like wings burst out of Weevil's back and he flew up and through the ceiling. Before Yugi could see what was going on it was too late. He rushed to cover Tea as Weevil's candle hit the ground and the whole room erupted into huge blaze, but oddly enough Yugi and Tea were not harmed. Yugi turned to see that his two Valkyria's had not disappeared and had created a magical barrier that was protecting him and Tea from the fire. Breaker came up behind Tea and used his sword to slash the chains that bound her to the chair. Yugi removed her mouth gag and she hugged him so hard she nearly choked him to death.

"Yugi, I just knew you'd come… Oh my gosh are you alright?"

"I'm fine… But right now we need to regroup with the others… Joey's still in danger."


	5. On Demons Wings

A few hours ago Joey Wheeler had been on his way to pick up his visiting sister when someone snuck up behind him and knocked him unconscious. When he woke up he found himself chained to something, blindfolded, and gagged. Wherever he was he knew he must be outside because he could hear the sound of rain drops pouring on the ground. It was also very drafty. Eventually after what seemed like forever someone took off his blindfold. He was on top of one of the towers on the suspension bridge outside the Domino city limits. Even more frightening was the person standing in front of him.

"No…"

"Hi." replied Mai Valentine.

Joey hadn't seen Mai since the duel that cost him his soul back when he, Yugi, and the others were fighting Dartz. Joey thought he had saved Mai from the darkness. But here she was standing in front of him dressed in scarlet and black, her eyes were crimson, her hair and skin were a lot paler than he remembered. And behind that red lipstick he saw fangs.

"What's wrong Joseph? Aren't you glad to see me?" she said taking off his mouth gag.

"So what thirty pieces of silver were promised to you this time?" he asked angrily.

Mai smiled, "No one chooses to become this. But I have been promised one thing in return for my services."

"And what could Prince Vlad possibly have that you want that would persuade you to kill me?"

Mai started laughing.

"I don't want to kill you, what would I do without you? Go back to ripping off rich gamblers? No… No. You… complete me."

"What are you talking about?"

"After that Oricalcos fiasco I went on a quest of self discovery. You see Joseph overtime I realized that I had been too focused on the material world, and lost track of all that really mattered. All the talk about material things and being on top of the world being the key to happiness, it's a bad joke. All that gives you is temporary satisfaction, and even if I could become the number one duelist in the world someday someone will take that from me, like Yugi did to Kaiba. I never asked for Prince Vlad to make me like this, but he has nonetheless."

"Mai, where are you going with this?"

"Why it's simple … Now that I can live forever… What do I live for? That's where you come in Joey…"

Mai touched Joey on the cheek. Her hand was like dry ice. Joey shirked away from it.

"What's wrong Joey? I know you've always wanted me." she said smiling.

"Not like this… Never like this."

"True… Vampires and mortals are a little incompatible… So we'll have to fix that."

Mai knelt down in front of him. Joey tried pulling at the chains, but it was no use.

"You look nervous." said Mai "Don't worry I won't bite… Hard."

Mai grabbed him and Joey saw clearly the sharp pointed fangs in her mouth advancing on his neck.

"No… No! NO!"

But for some reason she stopped.

"Hmm… I can see you're not in the mood… So I'll have to get you in the mood… With a duel."

Mai grabbed the chains that bound Joey to the tower and broke them with her bare hand.

"Let's see if you're still as fun as I remember you to be."

"I can't duel her, she's probably got that Curse of Nosferatu thing Yugi was talking about." Joey thought.

Mai looked Joey in the eyes and he became lost in her gaze.

"I know you can't resist me Joey, or my will. You will get up and you will duel me."

Joey couldn't stop himself. He stood up and activated his duel disk.

"Good boy."

Mai leapt all the way over to the other side of the tower. Joey wondered how she could have possibly done that, but then remembered that she had become a vampire. She activated her duel disk.

"Let's duel!"

"Since you're such a gentleman I know you will have no problem with it if I go first. I'll just summon a monster in defense mode and end my turn."

"Big mistake Mai… I've got a card in my hand that scares any face down monsters… I summon Ninja Grandmaster Sasuke!"

(ATK: 1800 DEF: 1000)

"Whenever he attacks a face down defense position monster it's automatically destroyed by his effect without applying damage calculation. Sasuke, attack!"

Sasuke jumped into the air and threw his two daggers at Mai's facedown monster. It was automatically destroyed.

"And I'll end my turn by playing one card facedown."

"Impressive… Since Joey technically destroyed my Birdface with an effect instead of an attack I don't get to use it's effect to bring a Harpie Lady to my hand… Minor setback."

Mai drew her card.

"Yes… First I'll summon Harpie Queen!"

(ATK: 1900 DEF: 1200)

"That's a new one." said Joey

"Wait till you see it in action. But first I activate the field spell Harpies' Hunting Ground! This field spell increases the attack points of all winged beast monsters by 200."

(ATK: 2100)

"Now let's double the fun with Elegant Egotist! In case you've forgotten when I have a Harpie Lady on my side of the field I can use this spell card to special summon another one from my hand or deck, and I think I'll choose Harpie Lady 1!"

(ATK: 1300 DEF: 1400)

"And not only does she get a boost from Harpies' Hunting Ground, but her special ability increases the attack points of all wind attribute monsters by 300."

(Harpie Queen ATK: 2400)

(Harpie Lady 1 ATK: 1800)

"That's not good." said Joey.

"It's getting better by the minute. Since I just summoned a Harpie Lady, I can activate the second effect of Harpies' Hunting Ground, which let's me destroy one spell or trap card on your side of the field."

Mai's Harpie Lady 1 shredded Joey's facedown Magical Arm Shield with its talons.

"No! Now my Ninja is defenseless!"

"And now Joey, the card that will finally bring us together… The Curse of Nosferatu!"

The hideous skull with blood stained fangs appeared.

"Thanks to this all my monsters become vampires and their attack points increase by 500!"

Both Mai's Harpie Queen and Harpie Lady 1 turned pale colors, their wings changed to resemble those of a bat, their eyes turned crimson, they grew fangs, and their attack points increased.

(ATK: 2900)

(ATK: 2300)

"Vampire Harpie Lady 1, destroy his Ninja Grandmaster Sasuke!"

Joey's Ninja was sliced by the Vampire Harpie's talons.

(Joey: 3500)

"Now Vampire Harpie Queen, attack him directly!"

Joey felt a sharp pain as the vampire Harpie slashed him with her talons. Now he started to feel drained. He knew he was paying not just with his life points, but with his own blood as well.

(Joey: 600)

"It won't be long now… Soon you and I will be together forever!"


	6. Joey's Temptation

"Why do you resist Joey? I've already told you it's useless… We are destined to be together… You can't change that…"

"Mai… As much as I'd love to have you… It can't be… ugh… like this…"

"Playing hard to get eh? I like that… But it won't change anything… You will fall and then you will join me in eternal life."

"Life or living death? And besides how can you be so sure you'll win this duel while I still have life points left?"

Mai laughed, "Joey, you're already dead."

"How can you tell? I haven't even moved yet."

"Oh it won't be on your next turn… It'll be eight rounds from now."

"I'll believe that when I see it! In the meantime… Agh!"

The Curse of Nosferatu was already taking its toll on Joey. Since his life points were at 600 the card was already slowly taking away over ¾ of his blood.

"I've got to turn this thing around… I've already lost 3400 life points, and Mai hasn't lost any… But I don't have anything in my hand strong enough to defeat those vampire Harpies. I'll just have to stall for time until I can draw something that can."

Joey drew his card.

"I play Scapegoat! This spell card lets me summon four Scapegoat tokens to protect my life points!"

(4x ATK: 0 DEF: 0)

Mai laughed, "Do I look surprised to you? You use that card in every duel. I knew you'd play it, and I know you'll lose this duel in seven more turns. But while I wait for you I'll have to settle for your precious little tokens. I summon Harpie Lady 2 in attack mode!"

(ATK: 1300 DEF: 1400)

"And don't forget, thanks to the effect of Harpie Lady 1, Harpie's Hunting Ground, and the Curse of Nosferatu, she becomes a vampire and gains 1000 attack points!"

Mai's Harpie Lady 2 changed to resemble her Vampire Harpie Queen and Vampire Harpie 1, and it's attacks strength shot up.

(ATK: 2300)

"Now my Vampire Harpie Queen and Vampire Harpies 1 and 2, destroy three of his Scapegoats!"

All three of Mai's monsters attacked, shredding three of Joey's tokens with their razor sharp talons.

"Three down and one to go… Now make your move Joey… Not that it will matter… in just a few more turns you will be mine… forever…"

The Curse of Nosferatu continued to take it's toll on Joey. His skin was getting paler and paler, and he kept feeling weaker… But he refused to say die.

"Mai has at least one more Harpie Lady waiting somewhere in her deck… Even if she doesn't draw it she'll probably find some way to bring it out… But the only thing I have on the field right now is my last Scapegoat token… and she already has three deadly Vampire Harpies…"

Joey drew his card.

"Excellent! This could buy me some time… But wait! If she summons that final Harpie Lady then Hunting Ground's effect will kick in…"

Joey looked over the rest of his hand.

"I summon a monster in defense mode… and play… two cards face down…"

"Play any card you like hun, it won't change a thing…"

Mai drew her card.

"Perfect… I summon Harpie Lady 3 in attack mode!"

(ATK: 1300 DEF: 1400)

"You know what happens next."

Mai's Harpie transformed into a vampire and it's attack points rose.

(ATK: 2300)

"Now the effect of Harpie's Hunting Ground kicks in. Since I just summoned a Harpie Lady I can destroy one spell or trap card on your side of the field!"

"If she destroys the right card I'm finished!" thought Joey.

Mai's Vampire Harpie Lady 3 flew over to Joey's side of the field and shredded one of his face down cards.

"Now my Vampire Harpies, attack!"

All four of Mai's Vampire Harpies flew at Joey.

"Not so fast Mai… I activate my face down trap! Negate Attack!"

Mai's Harpies were stopped in their tracks. And because of Negate Attack's effect her battle phase was over.

"No matter… I knew you'd counter some how… But don't forget… you only have six turns left… Then you'll be all mine."

"I can't give up… I won't! As much as I love you Mai, I will not become a monster to be with you…"

Joey drew his card.

"Yes! I summon Marauding Captain!"

(ATK: 1200 DEF: 400)

"And when Marauding Captain is normal summoned I can special summon a level 4 or lower monster from my hand… and I choose… ugh… another Marauding Captain!"

(ATK: 1200 DEF: 400)

"As long as I have Marauding Captain out you can't attack another one of my warrior type monsters without destroying him first, but since I have two out that means you can't attack either of them or any other warrior monster I summon. Like the Rocket Warrior I summoned last turn."

(ATK: 1500 DEF: 1300)

"I doesn't matter Joey… You have only prolonged the inevitable… One way or another in five turns you will be mine…"

After the next two rounds Joey still didn't have anything in his hand that could take out Mai's Vampire Harpies. The only thing Mai had succeeded in doing was destroying Joey's last Scapegoat because it wasn't protected by his Marauding Captains since it wasn't a Warrior, but Joey didn't need that token anyway. Still the Curse of Nosferatu slowly continued to drain him of his blood.

"What's wrong Joey? You're as pale as a ghost… Don't worry; as soon as we're done here I know just the thing to perk you up."

She winked.

"… Just make your move…"

"Very well, I'll just play this card face down…"

Joey still didn't have anything in his hand that could take out Mai's Harpies… But he was still unwilling to give up.

"I summon… euragh… a monster in defense mode."

"It's probably another warrior type monster… Not that it matters… The Curse of Nosferatu is slowly wearing down any resistance that he has left… And in just two more turns he'll be all mine…"

Mai drew her card.

"Since I still can't attack any of your monsters I'll pass… Hope your hand is hot… Not that it will matter… In just two more turns you'll be mine forever and ever…"

"It's not over yet Mai…"

Joey drew his card, as he did he looked down at the crucifix that was around his neck.

"Come on God show me some love… Oh yeah that's what I'm talking about! I summon… agh… I sacrifice both my Marauding Captains and my Rocket Warrior… ugh… to summon Gilford the Lightening!"

(ATK: 2800 DEF: 1400)

"And since I sacrificed three monsters to summon him… err… All the monsters you have out are destroyed!"

Gilford raised his sword and lightening burst out of the tip of the blade and rained down on Mai's Vampire Harpies.

"And that was just his special ability! Gilford attack Mai directly!"

Gilford jumped at Mai and slashed her with his sword.

(Mai: 1200)

"Ooo, Joey you are such a man…"

"You should know by now I never go down without a fight… I'll end my turn by playing one card facedown."

"It doesn't matter Joey… You'll still be mine… And then we'll know the pleasures of immortal love…"

Mai drew her card.

"Looks like my prophecy was wrong… You won't lose next turn… You'll lose this turn… I activate the trap card Hysteric Party!"

"Not that! … Wait I've never even heard of that card."

"It's really quite simple Joseph… By discarding one card from my hand I can special summon as many Harpie Lady cards as possible from my graveyard."

Mai's Harpie Queen and Harpie Ladies 1-3 all came back to the field.

"That's not good."

"It's getting even better. Next I activate the spell card Fiend Sanctuary, which let's me summon a Metal Fiend Token!"

(ATK: 0 DEF: 0)

"Next I'll activate the spell card Cost Down! This let's me reduce the level of one monster in my hand by 2. Now I'll sacrifice my Metal Fiend Token to summon Harpie's Pet Dragon!"

(ATK: 2000 DEF: 2500)

"As you may remember my Harpie's Pet Dragon gets 300 attack points for every Harpie Lady on my side of the field, also thanks to the effect of Harpie Lady 1 it gains an additional 300, plus thanks to the Curse of Nosferatu it becomes a Vampire and gets a 500 point boost!"

Mai's Harpie's Pet Dragon turned from pink to black, it's eyes turned crimson, and huge fangs erupted out of it's mouth. And to make matters worse was the creature's attack strength.

(ATK: 4000)

"Holy crap!"

"Now Joey I really don't need to use this next card, but I'm going to do it any way just to show you there is no way you can possibly beat me… I activate the spell card Raigeki!"

"What! That's one of the rarest cards in the game!"

"And with good reason, because now all the monsters on your side of the field are destroyed!"

Lightening rained down from the sky destroying all of Joey's monsters.

"Now my monsters, attack Joey and bring us together!"

But none of Mai's monsters moved.

"For those of you who may not have been paying attention, I said attack!"

Nothing happened.

"Sorry Mai… They can't attack… because it's not your turn…"

"What do you mean it's not my turn?"

"Did you forget about the face down monster I played two turns ago? It was my Neko Mane King, and since you just destroyed it with your Raigeki spell card your turn automatically came to an end."

"Why do you resist me Joey? I already know the outcome of this duel… I already know you'll lose this turn… Why prolong your pain and misery any longer? Join me… I know you've always wanted me… and I've always wanted you… Place your hand on your duel disk and join me in eternal life… At last we can be together… forever… I'll include everything you see here" she said gesturing to her body "Plus everything you don't."

Joey couldn't believe she just said that. Immediately the image was forming in his mind.

"No! Must resist… temptation…"

But something else was telling him, "Give in… Give in… She may be a vampire but she's so hot!"

Mai was right... it was useless. None of the cards in Joey's hand could help. He did have his Red Eyes Black Dragon, but he had no way of summoning it. Even if he could it didn't have anywhere near enough attack points to take the rest of Mai's life points.

"No! I can't give up! My sister does not want to have a vampire for a brother! And if I've learned one thing from all I've been through it's that it only takes one card to turn the tide…"

Joey reached for his deck.

"Sorry Mai… But the only way I'm giving up is if I suddenly pass out from the massive blood loss… agh… Which may very well be the case…"

"Going out like a man eh? How sexy."

Thanks to the Curse of Nosferatu Joey was about as white as the snow covered peak of Mount Everest. He felt faint and short of breath, he could barely stand up… but he refused to say die.

"I… play… the spell card… Pot of Greed!"

Joey drew two more cards.

"How appropriate… I trust you remember my little friend Mai… After all this is how I beat you in our very first duel…"

"You mean?"

"That's right… I… summon… The Time Wizard!"

(ATK: 500 DEF: 400)

"And now I'll activate his special ability!"

Joey pulled a coin out of his pocket.

"You know what happens next… Heads… my Time Wizard destroys every monster on your side of the field… Tails… not so lucky…"

Not so lucky was an understatement. If it landed on tails then Joey's Time Wizard would be destroyed, half it's attack points would be dealt to him as damage, then he would be at the mercy of Mai's vampire Harpies and their dragon.

"Even after all these years you're still relying on luck to win a duel… You'd risk our entire future together? Joey when are you going to learn that you can't put something like that up to chance?"

"Mai, life is full of risks… Years ago back at Duelist Kingdom I constantly risked everything to save my sister… Not too long ago I risked everything to save you from Marik and then Dartz… Life is full of risks… but some of them are worth taking… and besides… you know me… I make my own luck."

Mai laughed.

"Yes you make your own luck… and it's all bad… Besides… Prince Vlad already showed me the outcome of this duel in his crystal ball… You'll toss that coin and it will be tails… Then you'll be mine for eternity." she thought.

"If you think it can save you then go ahead and flip it. But remember… As I've prophesied this is your last turn… You'll lose because it is fate. You and I are destined to be together!"

"Sorry Mai, as much as I like the idea of you and me… I never wanted you like this… besides… I don't believe in fate."

Joey flipped the coin in the air and caught it… It was tails.

"Let's go again."

"You can't!"

"Oh yes I can." said Joey smiling "See I've already activated this card… Second Coin Toss! With it I can negate the effect of my Time Wizard and redo the coin toss… Sure it doesn't… agh… guarantee me a victory dance… but at least… ugh… I have another… shot…"

"No… the prophecy only showed one coin toss."

"I told you I make my own luck Mai… Let's do it again…"

Joey tossed the coin again and caught it… It was heads.

"Time Wizard, Activate Time Magic!"

The Time Wizard raised his staff in the air and the entire time space continuum started spinning out of control, eons were passing like seconds. Within moments all Mai's monsters started to age until they turned to dust.

"Now I activate the spell card Double Summon! With this I can normal summon another monster this turn… And I… agh… choose… Red Eyes Black Chick!"

(ATK: 800 DEF: 500)

"But this little guy won't be staying around for long… Because now I'm going to sacrifice him to summon… aahh… to summon… ohhh… to summon… Red Eyes Black Dragon!"

(ATK: 2400 DEF: 2000)

"Red Eyes, attack Mai directly with Inferno Fire Blast!"

(Mai: 0)

"Ah ha! … I… win…"

Joey's strength had given up on him… He stumbled and fell off the edge of the tower. Wind ripped past him as he started to fall towards the suspension bridge below. Suddenly two huge bat like wings erupted out of Mai's back, she swooped down and caught him, then landed on the bridge below. She could tell Joey was in a lot of pain because of the Curse of Nosferatu.

"Relax Joey… It will all be over soon…"

She moved in on his neck when suddenly.

"!"

Joey had managed to grab one of his garlic bombs and set it off. Mai stumbled back coughing.

"I'm sorry Mai… But this is for your own good…"

Joey reached for the vial of holy water he had been carrying, popped it open and flung it at Mai.

"!"

Mai collapsed to the ground just as several bright car lights came up behind Joey.

"Joey! No!" screamed Serenity.

Duke ran over and checked Joey's vital signs.

"Thank God… He's still alive."

"Somebody get him in the car, we need to perform a blood transfusion ASAP!" said Tristan.

As Pegasus' goons placed Joey in one car and Mai in the other, Prince Vlad was hanging over one of the suspension cables unnoticed. Normally he'd be angry right now… But something… or someone… had caught his attention.

"… I think it's time I started seeking my bride." he said with a wicked grin.


	7. To cure a vampire?

"Master, it's way past your bed time." said Keith.

Though the sun had risen it was blocked out by the storm that had been roaring on for days. And somewhere deep beneath the surface of Domino City Prince Vlad sat on his throne waiting to see how big an impact he had made on the city so far.

"A cloud of fear hangs over Domino City. Every day more and more people are vanishing left and right. And to make matters worse the record breaking storm continues it's fierce downpour… Coming up next, a strange occurrence last night at the Domino suspension bridge."

Prince Vlad pressed the pause button on the DVR remote. Though he was amazed how far science had advanced over the years since his absence he wasn't interested in contemplating it at the moment.

"Wheeler won that duel out of sheer luck Master. It's nothing worthy of your attention… Besides, it's not like Ms. Valentine was irreplaceable." said Kaiba.

Prince Vlad's eyes didn't leave the TV.

"You like? It's a plasma screen… You know, as in blood." said another one of his vampire servants.

He pressed the zoom button on the remote. It became clear what he was really so interested in.

"Oh… The girl… You have been in the grave a long time Master…"

"Her hair is like a cascading waterfall… Her eyes look like they can pierce the black abyss that is my soul… Her skin looks as sensitive and delicate as a crimson rose… Last night I could smell her blood… It was an unearthly sweetness I have never known before… What is her name?"

"I believe she's the dueling chihuahua's sister."

"A name Seto Kaiba… A name!"

On his master's orders Kaiba ran a quick search through his company's database. He kept information on every known duelist in the world and anyone they were involved with, that way he could always stay one step ahead of the competition. But now he used it to help his master find good servants.

"Her name is Serenity Wheeler."

"As in peace… Reminds me of my coffin." he said with a wicked grin on his face.

"AAAAGGGGGHHHHH!!!"

Joey Wheeler woke up in Pegasus' penthouse.

"Joey! I'm so glad you're okay!"

"Serenity? What happened last night?"

"You and Tea were kidnapped by Prince Vlad's men, and then you and Yugi had to duel for your lives. Luckily we managed to get you both blood transfusions." said Duke.

Joey had completely forgotten. The whole reason he screamed when he woke up was because the last thing he remembered was falling off the suspension bridge tower, right after he defeated…

"Where' Mai!?"

"I've got her locked up downstairs. But she won't reveal Prince Vlad's resting place." said Pegasus.

"That reminds me, how do you cage a vampire?" asked Tristan.

"Simple, silver bars laced in garlic with a big crucifix on every side of the cage."

"Mr. Pegasus… Is there any way we could cure Mai?" asked Serenity.

"Sure, we can drive a stake through her heart."

Everyone was silent.

"Uh wouldn't she be… you know." Yugi made the kill gesture.

"Dead? Yes, but then she'd be cured."

"Okay… Is there any other way?"

"Well… We could cut off her head, stuff her mouth with garlic, and burn her body."

"… Listen to your words." said Tea.

"Is there any cure that ends with the vampire alive?!" asked Joey.

"… Most people don't want the vampire alive."

"But this is Mai we're talking about!" said Joey.

"… There might be a way… Come with me."

They all followed Pegasus to the room in the penthouse that had all his research.

"If there is a way to cure a vampire without killing them it will be in one of these volumes… Okay everyone, grab a book and get busy."

Some of the volumes were about vampires in general; some of them were about specific vampires. But the most fascinating things were Pegasus' findings from his Romanian expedition. There was everything from wood carvings to old tomes that told the story of Prince Vlad and his quest for power.

"This is Prince Vlad?" asked Serenity.

In the painted portrait he didn't look like a vampire. He had silky dark hair, a serious facial expression, and a strong body. He actually looked kind of charming.

"That was prior to his transformation." said Pegasus "True in life he was a most charming individual, but that's just proof that a pretty face can hide an evil mind. He sought vengeance on the Muslims for his father's murder, but it wasn't enough… no amount of lives could contain his bloodlust… Now he is cursed to walk the earth forever… neither alive nor dead… A lost soul so evil that God could never forgive him."

Yugi looked at an old wood carving that showed Prince Vlad battling the monsters used by Atem's descendants. Yugi could hardly believe he had made it this far without Atem. He had defeated two vampires already, and not just any vampires, they were two of his biggest rivals. Before he departed Atem told Yugi that he had faith in him… But could he defeat someone like Prince Vlad?

"Pegasus… Does it say what it was like to face the Prince in a Shadow Game?"

"It was only ever said that they never wanted to experience it again…"

Yugi didn't defeat Pegasus at Duelist Kingdom, he was nearly dead as a result of the strain caused on him by being in the Shadow Realm while using the mind shuffle. He didn't defeat Marik at Battle city, he was watching on the sidelines with his soul on the line. While Kaiba and Atem were battling Dartz Yugi's soul was trapped in another dimension waiting to be fed to the Leviathan, and it was Atem who defeated Zorc the Dark One upon learning his name… But now Atem was gone… Yugi was all alone.

"Wait… I think I found it!"

They all gathered around the translated journal of Atem's descendant.

"Praise be to God! When we slew the devil's offspring his victims were freed of his curse. They all knelt down and gave thanks to the lord for their deliverance. A clear sign that they are free, they no longer shun the likeness of the lord. Now that our sacred mission is complete I can return home and join my beloved."

"So… What does it mean?" asked Serenity.

"Simple, we just hunt down Count Jerkula, and blow him to kingdom come!" said Tristan.

"AAAAAAAAAAGGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!! THE HORROR!!! THE HORROR!!!"

"That sounded like Mai!" said Joey.

One of Pegasus' men came in.

"Sir, our little test subject is turning pale."

"She is a vampire."

"I meant more so then usual."

They all went down into the basement of the building where Mai was locked in a cage of silver bars laced in garlic. On all four sides in front of the cage was a big crucifix. Mai was lying on the ground in the cage, she looked as though she was in pain. When they entered she stared through the bars of her cage at Joey.

"Why do you torment me Joey? … I thought you cared…"

"Trust me Mai, we're trying to help you."

"THEN FEED MEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!" she screeched.

"Of course…" said Pegasus "Whether they like it or not vampires need to feed on the blood of the living in order to survive… If we don't get her some blood soon she'll start to age until she turns to dust. Someone bring her one of our spare blood packs."

While they were waiting Mai continued to writhe and twitch.

"So… thirsty… burning up inside… I CAN'T TAKE IT ANY MORE!!!"

When Pegasus' boy came back with the blood pack, everyone was reluctant to get too close to Mai.

"I'll do it." said Joey.

Joey walked slowly over to the cage, then he knelt down in front of it.

"Please… have mercy on a poor soul…" said Mai.

Joey held out the blood pack. When Mai saw it she jumped at him with excitement, but Joey pulled it away and Mai couldn't reach outside the garlic laced bars.

"Prince Vlad's hiding place… Where is it?" he asked.

"Can't you see…" said Mai on her knees "The decision isn't mine to make…"

Suddenly her eyes looked a lot brighter and her voice sounded more sinister.

"I am his vessel."

Joey could see this wasn't going to work. He tossed the blood pack into the cage and Mai leapt eagerly at it. She tore it open with her fangs and started to suck it dry, the sight of it repulsed everyone. When she was done she turned and looked at Joey.

"Joey… You complete me."

**(To be continued)**

**So that's the trick, Cut off the head and the body will die**

**Look out Serenity, he's got his eyes on you**

**Stay tuned for**

**Chapter 8: The oldest trick in the book**


	8. The Oldest Trick in the Book

Prince Vlad stood alone deep beneath the streets of Domino City staring into the abyss.

"Everything is ready master… If all goes well you shall have your bride…"

"Excellent…"

"Shall I tell the duelist I arranged to proceed then?"

"By all means. And I hope for your sake you've picked a good one this time."

"One thing Master… Why are you so obsessive over this single girl?"

"Seto Kaiba… You were raised by a man without a heart… Someone who believed that material things are the key to happiness… I have a feeling you will learn soon enough that is not the case…"

"Mr. Pegasus! We have another vampire sighting!"

"Where is it?"

"It's in downtown."

"Lock and load boys, we've got a blood sucker to take care of."

"Serenity you better stay here." said Joey.

"… Promise me you'll come back safely…"

"Don't worry sis, I've made a few improvements to my deck."

A few of Pegasus' men stayed behind to guard the penthouse incase Prince Vlad and his men tried to free Mai. The rest went with Pegasus, Yugi, Joey, and the others to look for the vampire. They didn't have to look long.

"Wheeler!"

"Oh no, not you again…"

"Yes me… The king of the undead Jurassic food chain! The one and only Rex Raptor."

"Aren't you supposed to be extinct?"

"Quit calling King Rex extinct! I already told you I'm undead!"

"I don't have time for this Rex." said Joey pulling out his G18 "Where is Prince Vlad?"

"Beat me in a duel and I'll tell you."

"I've already beaten your prehistoric butt twice and you still don't take the hint? Well maybe the third time is the charm."

They both activated their duel disks.

"Let's duel!"

**(Insert the song "We're all to blame" by Sum 41)**

"I summon Ninja Grandmaster Sasuke in attack mode!"

(ATK: 1800 DEF: 1000)

"And I'll end my turn by playing one card face down."

"Oh it's big scary ninja, whatever will I do? Oh right, I'll stomp it with this move! But first I play The Curse of Nosferatu!"

"Sorry Rex. Saw it coming." thought Joey.

"Next I special summon Gilasaurus!

(ATK: 1400 DEF: 400)

"Now some say two heads are better then one… And I couldn't agree more! So now I'll special summon another Gilasaurus!"

(ATK: 1400 DEF: 400)

"But neither of them will be sticking around because I'm sacrificing them both so summon this bad boy! Tyrant Dragon!"

(ATK: 2900 DEF: 2500)

"And thanks to the Curse of Nosferatu it becomes a vampire and gains an additional 500 attack points!"

(ATK: 3400)

"Tyrant Dragon! Destroy his Ninja Grandmaster Sasuke!"

Rex's Tyrant Dragon blasted it's target, but when the smoke cleared Joey's ninja was still there… and his life points had actually increased."

(Joey: 7400)

"What the! There's no way! This can't be right!"

"Oh it's right Rex. Didn't you see my face down trap, or do you really have a brain the size of a peanut? It's called Draining Shield, whenever one of your monster's attacks I can negate it and add the strength of that card to my life points."

"No way!"

"Yes way, now it's my turn, and I play Reinforcement of the Army! This spell card lets me search my deck for level 4 or lower warrior type monster, and I choose Marauding Captain!"

(ATK: 1200 DEF: 400)

"And I'll use his special ability to summon another Marauding Captain!"

(ATK: 1200 DEF: 400)

"Big deal! My monsters will devour your precious warriors!"

Rex drew his card.

"Alright! I summon Gagagigo!"

(ATK: 1850 DEF: 1000)

"Next I activate the spell card Ultra Evolution Pill! This allows me to sacrifice Gagagigo to summon Ultimate Tyranno!"

(ATK: 3000 DEF: 2200)

"And don't forget, now he becomes a vampire and gets an attack boost!"

(ATK: 3500)

"And if you think that's scary, he can attack all your monsters at once! Tyranno attack!"

But Rex's monster didn't move.

"Didn't you hear me? I said attack!"

"Sorry Rex, but he can't attack."

"What are you talking about!"

"I'm talking about Marauding Captain's effect, since I have two on the field you can't attack any of my warrior monsters."

"You've got to be kidding me!"

"I never kid Rex. You focus too much on your monster's brute strength, but without strategy power is just an empty threat. With two cards that most people would consider weak I've stopped your monsters in their tracks. And to make matters worse you've used up all the cards in your hand, so there is nothing you can do to stop my attack!"

"You've nothing strong enough!"

"I don't need attack points to destroy your monsters. First I'll play Dangerous Machine Type-6; next I sacrifice all three of my warriors to summon Gilford the Lightening!"

(ATK: 2800 DEF: 1400)

"And since I sacrificed three monsters to summon him all your monsters are destroyed!"

Both Rex's monsters were blasted into oblivion.

"Now Gilford attack him directly!"

(Rex: 1200)

"You're going to pay for that Wheeler! I play the spell card Monster Reborn to resurrect my Ultimate Tyranno, and now I'll have him destroy your Gilford!"

(Joey: 6700)

Joey's Gilford the Lightening may have been devoured, but the Curse of Nosferatu wasn't taking effect because Joey had acquired a surplus of life points.

"Alright Rex, since It's my turn the effect of my Dangerous Machine Type-6 activates, now I roll a six sided die, and what happens next depends on my roll…"

Joey rolled the die.

"Yes! A five! With that I can destroy one monster on your side of the field, namely your Ultimate Tyranno!"

Rex's Ultimate Tyranno went up in smoke.

"No! That means I'm defenseless!"

"And wide open for an attack, remember this card Rex, it's the first monster of mine you destroyed during our first duel back at Duelist Kingdom, and now he wants some payback."

"Oh no…"

"That's right, say hello to my little friend Baby Dragon!"

(ATK: 1200 DEF: 700)

"Baby Dragon, attack his life points directly and end this!"

Joey's Baby Dragon basted Rex with a stream of fire (which Vampires are known to avoid).

"AAAAAGGGGGGHHHH!"

(Rex: 0)

"No more games Rex! Where is Prince Vlad?"

Rex started laughing.

"Why don't you ask you're sister?"

"What are you talking about?"

"I can't believe you fell for the oldest trick in the book Wheeler… This duel was a diversion. I lured you and the others away so my Master could claim his bride!"

"Oh no… Everyone back to the penthouse!"

Back at the penthouse Serenity was dressed in her white nightgown, she couldn't sleep knowing Joey was out there fighting vampires. She was so lost in her thoughts she didn't notice the person standing on the adjacent rooftop.

"Those fools have the whole place filled with garlic thinking it will keep her safe… But I don't need to go in there… I just need to make her come out…"

Prince Vlad had already put Pegasus' men asleep using his mind control abilities, he didn't expect Serenity to be any more difficult.

"Serenity… I command you… arise… take off your crucifix and walk to the door…"

Serenity couldn't stop herself, it was like she was in a trance. She walked over to the door, opened it, and closed it behind her. Prince Vlad slapped himself on the forehead.

"Serenity… you are in the closet… open the door and come out… now walk to the balcony door… watch out for the foot… stool… Oh to hell with this, Plan B."

Prince Vlad glided over to the balcony and broke threw the door with his bare hands. He covered his face with his cloak so he wouldn't inhale the garlic fumes. He marched in, quickly picked her up, and got out.

"That wasn't so bad." he thought.

He took a moment to examine her, her skin was so warm, and she had this sweet scent that was just intoxicating, and her long hair was so soft. She was a perfect prize. He carried the sleeping girl in his arms and flew off into the night.

"You will be my bride throughout eternity… We'll share the endless passion of immortal love."


	9. The Big Guns

"Serenity!"

Yugi, Joey, and the others ran back to the penthouse as fast as they could but Serenity was gone.

"Oh my God they got her!"

"What do we do now?" asked Duke.

"Our only hope is to find Prince Vlad and destroy him before it's too late." said Pegasus.

"But we don't know where he is." said Tea.

"It doesn't matter, we need to save Serenity before she becomes the devil's concubine!" said Tristan.

Joey instantly ran down to the place where Mai was being held.

"Mai, Where is Prince Vlad?"

"I can't tell you Joey… I can't betray my master."

"Mai he has my sister!"

"He… He has Serenity?"

"Mai if you really love me you'll help me save my sister."

Mai hesitated.

"Him or me, take your pick." said Joey.

Mai looked like she was about to have a breakdown. Suddenly her eyes lost their scarlet color.

"Domino cemetery, south end… the crypt behind the five tombstones that make a pentagram."

Once Mai had told them they were all ready to leave, Tea was to stay with some of Pegasus' men at the penthouse who were going to protect Mai in case some of Prince Vlad's men came to punish her for revealing their master's location.

"Yugi, promise me you'll be careful."

Yugi knew she was worried because Atem was no longer with him.

"… I'll be fine Tea."

"Okay boys, I think it's time we brought in the heavy artillery." said Pegasus.

One of Pegasus' men opened the trunk of the car before they got in.

"Whoa!"

It was filled with really big guns and other weapons.

"Take your choice."

Joey chose an AA-12 shotgun, Duke took a flamethrower, and Tristan took an M76 sub machine gun, and Yugi took an AK-47, in addition as side weapons they all got a silver machete and a silver dagger both of which had been laced in garlic. All their guns were loaded with silver bullet with crucifixes carved into them, and had been laced in garlic.

They rode in Pegasus' limos through the raging storm to Domino Cemetery. Except for Pegasus' instructions it was a silent trip.

"Remember boys, most of the vampires are just innocent people who can be cured if we destroy Prince Vlad, if you have to shoot then shoot to wound, but if you run into the Prince then by all means go crazy… Oh and Yugi boy, you'll need these… burrow only."

Pegasus handed him an envelope with two cards inside.

"What are they?" he asked.

"Prince Vlad is a master of the Shadow Games and of dark magic, if he challenges you to a duel then these card will help you beat him."

They came to the cemetery and switched their lights on. When they came to the gate they saw an old man sitting at the foot of a crucifix reading a newspaper.

"Bout time you guys got here, them scary people in there are causing all kinds of hell." he said in a low voice.

They all made their way across the cemetery, keeping their eyes out for any of the vampires with their weapons at the ready.

"I don't like this place, it gives me the creeps." said one of Pegasus' men.

"Duh, we're in a cemetery at night, and it's raining." said Duke.

"Where did Mai say it was?" asked Tristan.

"South end, the crypt behind the five tombstones that make a pentagram."

It didn't take long to find the five graves, the held their weapons at the ready as Pegasus' men kicked down the door to the crypt. The slowly went down the stairs in single file. The old dusty crypt was illuminated only by the flashlights they carried. The crypt itself wasn't that big and it appeared that there was no one inside.

"Wait what's this?"

There was a huge hole in the side wall. They went inside and found themselves in another room.

"I think we've stumbled on a network of tunnels that haven't been used since the second world war." said Pegasus.

Somewhere deep in the tunnels Prince Vlad had returned to his lair carrying his bride to be. He laid her in his coffin and turned to face his minions.

"Come my children of the night, and witness the blood wedding…"

All the other vampires came out of the darkness.

"So what do we call her? Mrs. Dracula?" asked Keith.

Suddenly Prince Vlad felt something.

"Unwanted guests… My children, seek out and destroy them."

Yugi, Joey, and the others had to split up. Due to the many tunnels they were not sure where to look for Prince Vlad.

"Where are you? You blood sucking parasite!" yelled Joey.

"Sorry Weasel, but the master is a little busy right now."

"Bandit Keith? Get lost! I haven't got time for you!"

"Looking for your sister? Too bad. She's with my master, and soon she will be his blushing bride."

"That's not going to happen! Get out of my way!"

"Sorry dweeb, but if you want to get through you'll beat me in a duel."

"I don't have time for this!"

"I know, which is why if you want to save your sister you'll just have to beat me."

"Argh… No problem… I beat the hell out of you at Duelist Kingdom!"

"That's ancient history kid…"

They both activated their duel disks.

"Let's duel!"

"Lucky for you I can't use the Curse of Nosferatu because all my monsters are machines, not that I need it. First I play the spell card Fiend Sanctuary! This lets me summon a metal fiend token!"

(ATK: 0 DEF: 0)

"But it won't be staying around for long, because now I'm sacrificing it to summon Cannon Soldier MK-2 in attack mode!"

(ATK: 1900 DEF: 1200)

"Oh I'm so scared, it's a tin toy with guns on its back. It's nothing compared to this guy! I summon Panther Warrior!"

(ATK: 2000 DEF: 1600)

"He may have more attack point, but you forgot to read the fine print dweeb, you have to sacrifice a monster for him to attack."

"I know how my own card works Keith, now go ahead and make your move!"

"Very well, I play the spell card Scapegoat! This let's me summon four scapegoat tokens!"

(4x ATK: 0 DEF: 0)

"Now I'll activate the special ability of my Cannon Soldier MK-2! By sacrificing two monsters on my side of the field I inflict 1500 points of damage to you, and since I'm sacrificing four that means you lose 3000 life points!"

Keith's Cannon Soldier blasted Joey twice.

(Joey: 1000)

"Are you done yet? Good, because now I'll play my own Scapegoat and get four tokens of my own!"

(4x ATK: 0 DEF: 0)

"Now I'll sacrifice one of them so my Panther Warrior can attack!"

Joey's Panther warrior jumped at Keith and chopped his Cannon Soldier MK-2 in half."

(Keith: 3900)

"Minor setback dweeb."

Keith drew his next card.

"Yes! I play the spell card Polymerization! Now I'll use it to fuse the Barrel Dragon and Blowback Dragon cards in my hand so I can summon my Gatling Dragon!"

(ATK: 2600 DEF: 1200)

"Now I'll activate his special effect! Now I toss three coins in the air, and for every heads I get I can destroy one of your monsters!"

Keith tossed the three coins in the air.

"Well it looks like today's my lucky day. All three of them are heads, so that means three of your monsters are destroyed! Gatling Dragon wipe out his three remaining Scapegoat tokens!"

BUDDA BUDDA BUDDA BUDDA BUDDA BUDDA BUDDA

When the smoke cleared all three of Joey's scapegoat tokens had been destroyed.

"And that was just his special effect! Gatling Dragon destroy his Panther Warrior!"

BUDDA BUDDA BUDDA BUDDA BUDDA BUDDA BUDDA

(Joey: 400)

"I've got to find a way to turn this duel around. My sister is counting on me."

Joey drew his card.

"Thank you God! I summon Gearfried the Iron Knight!"

(ATK: 1800 DEF: 1600)

"But I'm not done yet! Now I activate the spell card Release Restraint! This frees Gearfried from his iron prison, revealing Gearfried the Swordmaster!"

(ATK: 2600 DEF: 2200)

"A lot of good that move is going to do you dweeb! Both of these monsters have the same attack points!"

"Who said I was going to attack? I'm using Gearfried's special ability! I equip him with my Ax of Despair! And whenever Gearfried is equipped with an equipment spell card I can automatically destroy one of your monsters!"

Keith's Gatling Dragon was sliced in half.

"And that's not all, I still haven't attacked yet and Ax of Despair increases Gearfried's attack strength by 1000!"

(ATK: 3600)

"Gearfried attack!"

(Keith: 300)

"I knew you were an amateur and now I going to show you why!"

Joey laughed, "Amateur? Didn't I just send your best monster to the scrap heap and even up the score?"

"You wish! I'll lay one card face down and summon one monster in defense mode!"

"It doesn't matter what mode his monster is in, my Swordmaster has more then enough attack points to send it to the junkyard." Joey thought.

"Gearfried attack!"

"Sorry dweeb, but my face down monster is Cyber Jar!"

"Oh great."

"Now all the monsters on the field are destroyed! That mean's your Gearfried!"

Joey's monster was sucked into the Cyber Jar before it exploded.

"Now we both pick up the top five cards from our decks, and any level four or lower monsters we pick up have to be summoned! I'll summon four monsters in defense mode!"

"I can't see what I'm attacking, so I better play it safe." thought Joey.

"I summon five monsters in defense mode!"

"Well this is going to be pretty boring if we're just playing defense cards all day, so I'll reveal my face down Machine King Prototype!"

(ATK: 1600 DEF: 1500)

"And now I'll sacrifice my face down Twin Barrel Dragon and my Mechanical Chaser to summon Perfect Machine King!"

(ATK: 2700 DEF: 1500)

"My Machine King Prototype gains 100 attack points for every machine on the field other then himself. And the same goes for my Perfect Machine King except that he gets 500 attack points for every machine!"

(Machine King Prototype: 1700)

(Perfect Machine King: 3200)

"Now I'll reveal my other face down monster, Mighty Guard!"

(ATK: 500 DEF: 1200)

"And now I activate the spell card Machine Duplication! This let's me summon two more Mighty Guards from my deck!"

(2x ATK: 500 DEF: 1200)

"Now my Machine Kings gain that many more attack points!"

(Machine King Prototype: 2000)

(Perfect Machine King: 4700)

Keith's machines destroyed two of Joey's monsters.

"I could send one of my monsters to destroy one of Keith's Mighty Guards… But then there is that face down card he played a couple of turns ago… Knowing Keith it's probably a trap. But I'm running out of time, I need to save my sister!"

Joey drew his card.

"Just what I needed! I reveal one of my face down monsters, my Red Eyes Black Chick!"

(ATK: 800 DEF: 500)

"Now I'll sacrifice him to summon my Red Eyes Black Dragon!"

(ATK: 2400 DEF: 2000)

"Perfect! The minute that dweeb attacks I'll destroy his monster with my Mirror Force trap. Then his remaining life points will be all mine."

"Now I activate the spell card Inferno Fire Blast!"

"What!?!"

"This spell card let's me inflict damage to your life points equal to the current attack of my Red Eyes Black Dragon!"

"No!!! I only have 300 life points left!!!"

"Red Eyes Black Dragon, Finish him off! Inferno Fire Blast!"

(Keith: 0)

For a moment Bandit Keith just stood there looking defeated.

"I may not have defeated you, but in that case I'll just have to kill you!"

Keith started to charge at Joey.

BANG!

Keith fell to the ground.

"YOU SHOT ME YOU BITCH!!!"

Joey had shot Keith in the leg with the G18 he had been carrying for days.

"Why didn't I just do that in the first place?" he thought to himself.

Before Joey left he checked the three coins that Keith had tossed during the duel. They were all two headed coins.

"I thought so."

**Coming up next**

**The moment we've all been waiting for**

**Yugi vs. Prince Vlad!**


	10. Dueling with the Dark Lord

Yugi Muto walked alone through the long tunnels that stretched deep beneath Domino city. He and the others had to split up if they were ever going to find Prince Vlad. Any doubt he had before had been washed away because regardless of his own personal safety he knew this needed to be done, otherwise Domino would become the city of the undead.

Suddenly the tunnel got a lot colder, torches that had been placed here by the vampires lined the walls of these tunnels, but they seemed to shine light without heat. Even more unnerving was that fact that Yugi hadn't run into any vampires yet, he felt as if someone was inviting him down there. Yugi stepped into a large and expansive circular room with a big dome for a ceiling. Moments after he stepped inside his shoe felt soaked, he thought he had entered the sewer system, but then the torchlight revealed that it wasn't water he had stepped ankle deep in… it was blood.

In the distance he noticed one faint light shinning on stone coffin with someone lying inside of it.

"Serenity!"

Suddenly Yugi heard a voice that sent a chill down his spine.

"She won't wake… She's still alive but only just."

Yugi looked overhead and a tall pale figure dressed in a scarlet and black cape and cloak descended from the ceiling and landed a few feet away from him. His silvery gray hair cascaded down his broad shoulders, his fists hairy and complete with long pointy nails, and his eyes were as red as blood.

"Prince Vlad Dracul IV… I presume." said Yugi.

"And you must be the infamous Yugi Muto… King of games… or great pretender?" His words were like ice.

Yugi at once drew his weapon, but when he pointed it at Prince Vlad he couldn't pull the trigger. Prince Vlad had already looked deep into Yugi's eyes.

"You cannot win… No mortal can resist my will."

Yugi couldn't control himself. As much as he tried to fight it he dropped the weapon.

"Good boy… And I already know what you're asking… Why would I take someone as innocent as her? Yes I know I have so much already… Eternal life… Super human speed, strength, and power… But I don't have a purpose Yugi Muto… I can live forever… but I have nothing to live for… Eternal life without purpose is a curse… And I've lived long enough to know that… But with someone as beautiful as her as my bride and to rule as my queen I will finally have something to live for other then this unrewarding bloodlust. And together the two of us along with my minions will take this world one city at a time… one by one they will hear my call… and then this wicked and cruel world will follow my fall."

Yugi had heard enough, but he couldn't move his legs.

"But before we get to the wholesale slaughter of our little apocalypse, I'll start with you… Your ancestors paid me a great insult once… and I offer no forgiveness for an enemies sins passed to their descendants… But before I destroy you let's see once and for all if you truly deserve the title of king of games…"

A sinister looking duel disk appeared on Vlad's arm.

"Are you ready to meet your fate?"

Yugi added the two cards Pegasus had given him to his deck. He looked down at the crucifix around his neck.

"I may no longer have Atem with me… But maybe I have something or someone even better."

He activated his own duel disk.

"Let's duel!"

"Since you're clearly at a disadvantage in so many ways I'll let you make the first move."

"Fine by me!" replied Yugi.

Yugi didn't really know what kinds of cards Prince Vlad would use other then The Curse of Nosferatu. So for now he decided to play it safe.

"I summon a monster in defense mode and end my turn."

"That's it? How disappointing… this is going to be much easier then I thought… I play the spell card, Card Destruction! This forces both of us to discard all the cards in our hands and then draw the same number of cards from our decks."

Both Yugi and Vlad discarded their hands and drew five cards.

"Perfect… Behold the card that will be your undoing! The Curse of Nosferatu!!!"

The familiar skull with blood stained fangs emerged from the ground.

"Next I'll activate the effect of the two Mezukis in my graveyard. By removing a Mezuki in my graveyard from play I can special summon another zombie monster from my graveyard. Now I'll remove the two Mezukis in my graveyard from play to special summon Vampire Lady and Vampire Lord!"

(ATK: 1550 DEF: 1550)

(ATK: 2000 DEF: 1500)

"And now I'll sacrifice both of them to summon Prince Vlad!"

**(Not a real card)**

(ATK: 3000 DEF: 0)

"Did you just summon yourself?" asked Yugi.

"Yes I did, and my handsome doppelganger gains 500 extra attack points thanks to the Curse of Nosferatu."

(ATK: 3500)

"Next I activate the spell card The Vampire's Gaze!"

**(Not a real card)**

"By paying 1000 life points I can change the battle position of one monster on your side of the field."

(Vlad: 3000)

Yugi's face down monster was revealed to be the Mystical Elf.

(ATK: 800 DEF: 2000)

"Hmm… I think I'll end my turn."

"Wait a minute… He just paid 1000 life points to force my monster into attack mode and he didn't even attack me? I was wide open! What's he planning?"

Maybe Prince Vlad wasn't such a great duelist after all, or maybe he was just toying with Yugi.

"I'll summon another monster in defense mode, and I switch my Mystical Elf back to defense mode as well."

"You actually think you're safe behind your little defenses? I activate the second effect of my spell card The Vampire's Gaze! By paying 1000 life points I can take control of one monster on your side of the field, and I choose your Mystical Elf!"

(Vlad: 2000)

Yugi's monster's eyes turned crimson and walked over to Vlad's side of the field.

"No! My Mystical Elf!"

"Is mine now. And since she's on my side of the field, thanks to The Curse of Nosferatu she becomes a vampire and her attack strength increases by 500."

Yugi watched in horror as the Mystical Elf's outfit went from green to crimson red, her skin and hair turned pale, her eyes crimson, and fangs erupted from her mouth.

(ATK: 1300)

"And now I activate the field spell Blood Storm!"

**(Not a real card)**

Suddenly drops of blood started to downpour from the ceiling above them, and both Prince Vlad's monsters opened their mouths wide to receive the precious liquid.

"Blood Storm gives all my Vampire monsters a 500 point attack bonus."

(ATK: 1800)

(ATK: 4000)

"Now I'll attack your face down monster with my doppelganger!"

Yugi's face down monster was revealed to be Big Shield Gardna. Prince Vlad's doppelganger devoured it.

"And now his special effect kicks in. When ever he destroys one of my opponent's monsters I can add that monster's attack or defense points, whichever is higher, to his attack points."

(ATK: 6600)

"Now I'll attack you directly with my Vampire Mystical Elf!"

The Mystical Elf glided over and bit Yugi in the neck.

"AAAAAGGGGGHHH!!!"

(Yugi: 2200)

Yugi could already feel The Curse of Nosferatu slowly draining his blood, he had felt these effects twice already, but it's not something you get used to.

"It's… my… turn…"

Yugi drew his card.

"I play Pot of Greed! This lets me draw two new cards!"

Yugi drew his cards.

"I special summon Watapon in defense mode!"

(ATK: 200 DEF: 300)

"And since I used Pot of Greed to special summon Watapon, I can normal summon another monster also in defense mode."

"Running scared eh? Well why shouldn't you be? You know your petty defenses cannot protect you from my power. Now that it's my turn the second effect of my Blood Storm field spell activates! Now I gain 500 life points for every Vampire on my side of the field."

(Vlad: 3000)

"Now I'll activate the effect of my spell The Vampire's Gaze! I pay 1000 life points to reveal the identity of your face down monster!"

(Vlad: 2000)

Yugi's monster was revealed to be Magician's Valkyria.

(ATK: 1600 DEF: 1800)

"Hmm… Another cutie card. Well in that case I'll just take control of it using my Vampire's Gaze!"

(Vlad: 1000)

Yugi watched as his Magician's Valkyria left him and transformed into a vampire.

"Now thanks to the effect The Curse of Nosferatu and my Blood Storm field spell she gains 1000 attack points!"

(ATK: 2600)

"Now I'll attack your Watapon with my doppelganger!"

Prince Vlad's doppelganger swallowed Watapon whole.

"Now he gains attack points equal to your destroyed monster's defense points!"

(ATK: 6900)

"Now I'll attack you directly with my Vampire Mystical Elf!"

Once again the Vampire Mystical Elf viciously bit Yugi in the neck.

"AAAAAAAAAGGGGGGGGGHHHHHHH!"

(Yugi: 400)

"Now I'll finish you off with my Vampire Magician's Valkyria!"

The Vampire Magician's Valkyria flew at Yugi, when suddenly a whole army of tiny little balls of fluff exploded in front off him. When the smoke cleared Yugi's life points were untouched.

"WHAT!?!"

"Sorry… Vlad… But by discarding Kuriboh from my hand to my… ugh… graveyard… I can negate any damage you try to inflict on me…"

"Minor setback."

"Why didn't he destroy my Watapon with one of his other monsters and then attack me directly with his Prince Vlad? He would have won the duel."

"I can read your thoughts Yugi. And to answer your question you're boring me. I've been told that you were the greatest duelist of the age. But so far I am yet to see anything amazing. I guess it's true… Without you're friend the pharaoh… you're nothing."

Yugi could feel The Curse of Nosferatu slowly draining away ¾ of his blood. His skin was turning pale all over, he felt short of breath. But he couldn't give up. The entire world was counting on him… and him alone. He drew his card.

"I know how much…. Ugh… you… err… Vampires can't stand the light… So now… agh… I activate… The Swords of Revealing Light!"

Several luminous swords fell down from the sky and landed in front of Vlad's monsters. Both Vlad and his monsters hissed at the sight of them.

"Now you cannot attack me for… ugh… three turns… Now I summon Blockman!"

(ATK: 1000 DEF: 1500)

Prince Vlad already knew what Yugi was doing. He was going to use those swords to stall for time, and to power up his Blockman so he could cover the field with Block tokens in hopes that they would protect him from his monsters.

"You can have your precious little swords Yugi… You have only delayed the inevitable… But once three turns have passed no amount of Block tokens will protect you from my power."


	11. Evil Incarnate

"Get back! Back you blood sucking freaks! Back!!!"

Duke and Tristan were down in the WWII tunnels that intercepted with the sewer system, they couldn't get any closer to Prince Vlad's lair because they were surrounded by his un-dead minions.

"Get back or I'll blow your brains out!" yelled Tristan.

All the vampires snarled and growled as they advanced.

"Okay! I warned you!"

BUDDA BUDDA BUDDA BUDDA BUDDA

Tristan and Duke were told not to shoot to kill because these people were just innocent victims that could be cured when they destroyed Prince Vlad. So all he fired were some warning shots.

"I should've known they wouldn't have the guts for this kind of fun." said the Vampire Weevil.

"Let's get them!" said the Vampire Rex.

Duke and Tristan had already used up all their garlic bombs getting this far. They knew they had been told not to resort to lethal force, but it looked like they didn't have a choice. Just then Duke noticed a huge pipe above them and got an idea.

"Tristan, get in the water!"

"Are you kidding? It's probably full of disease; I'm not jumping in there."

Since Tristan was unwilling to cooperate Duke kicked him into the sewer water, then he jumped in himself. Duke was already regretting his decision.

"Oh my lord! If a dead fish and a skunk had a baby, and the baby puked, and a dog ate the puke along with some old sneakers and rotten eggs, this smells like the fecal matter of that dog!"

Duke looked up at the vampires advancing towards them.

"Sorry guys but dinner's canceled!"

Duke took aim at the pipe from under the water and fired with his flamethrower.

KABOOM!!!

The entire room shook knocking Joey off his feet. He pulled out his cell phone to reach the others.

"What the hell was that?!"

"That was the sound of Duke blowing up a gas line so we could escape a horde of Prince Vlad's goons." said Tristan.

"You do realize you probably cost lord knows how much money in property damage."

"Don't worry about that boys. It's on me." said Pegasus "Have any of you found Prince Vlad yet?"

"I've only run into Bandit Keith." said Joey "But Yugi isn't answering his phone."

"He's probably dueling. I'll send you all his coordinates through the GPS systems I placed in your phones."

Joey received Yugi's signal and started heading in that direction.

"Hold it right there monkey boy."

"Kaiba? Get out of my way! I need to find Yugi and my sister!"

"Sorry Wheeler but you're sister is currently being wed to my master, as for Yugi he's finally getting what he deserves…"

"Get out of my way Kaiba!"

"If you want to get past me you'll need to beat me in a…"

BANG!

"AAAGGGGHHHH!!! YOU SHOT ME YOU…"

BANG!

Kaiba had been shot in both of his legs.

"Boy I've wanted to do that forever." said Joey as he walked over the wailing Kaiba.

Yugi was barely standing up; the Curse of Nosferatu was slowly draining ¾ of his blood. And he couldn't stand the blood that was raining down on him and everything else as a result of Prince Vlad's Blood Storm field spell.

(Yugi: 400)

(Vlad: 1000)

Prince Vlad had taken two of Yugi's monster under his control, and his doppelganger was getting stronger every time it destroyed something. Right now the only thing that stood between Yugi and defeat was the swords of revealing light.

"It's my turn." said Vlad.

He drew his card.

"Because of Blood Storm's effect I now gain 500 life points for every Vampire I have out."

(Vlad: 2500)

"Now I'll activate the spell card The Vampire's Crystal Ball! Once during my turn I can look at either the cards in your hand or the top five cards in your deck. For now I think I'll look at what's in your deck."

(Not a real card)

Yugi was forced to show Prince Vlad the top five cards of his deck.

"Hmm… Nice cards. Now I activate the spell card Dark Magic! This allows me to draw from my deck until I have six cards in my hand."

(We wish that was a real card) 

Prince Vlad drew six cards to fill his empty hand.

"Now I activate the spell card Call of the Reaper! This allows me to pay 1000 life points so I can declare the name of one card, and if you happen to have that card in your hand, deck, or on your side of the field it automatically goes to the graveyard."

(Once again, not a real card)

(Vlad: 1500)

"And I think I'll choose… Buster Blader!"

Instantly Yugi's Buster Blader flew from his deck and into his graveyard.

"That's one turn down, in two more I'll be able to attack you again."

Yugi wasn't sure what he was going to do. For now all he could do was stall for time. He drew his card.

"Search your deck from now until judgment day, there is nothing you can do to stop me Yugi Muto! I have seen the future! I will defeat you in this duel! I will rule this world of yours with an Iron fist with Serenity by my side! And the United States President will be overthrown by Ewoks!!!"

"Ewoks? This guy's nuts." thought Yugi.

"I'll play one card face down and end my turn."

"It seems that's all you can do. I thought when I challenged you to a duel I'd be dueling the King of Games. But you're just a sad little boy who's gotten in way over his head."

Vlad drew his card.

"Now thanks to the effect of my Blood Storm field spell I gain 500 more life points for every Vampire I have out!"

(Vlad: 3000)

"Now I'll activate the effect of my Vampire's Crystal Ball to look at the cards in your hand."

Yugi was forced to show his hand.

"Hmm… I see you have the fabled Dark Magician… Your favorite card if I'm correct… Well he won't be around for long because now I play another Call of the Reaper! By paying 1000 life points I can send him right to the graveyard."

(Vlad: 2000)

Yugi's Dark Magician flew from his hand to his graveyard.

"Just one more turn Yugi… I hope you've made your peace with God."

The Curse of Nosferatu was taking its toll on Yugi, he could barely stand up, and the whole world was getting fuzzy. He didn't have anything in his hand that could help him.

"I… I… I pass."

"Very well. It's my turn then, and since it is I gain 500 life points for every vampire on my side of the field thanks to Blood Storm."

(Vlad: 3500)

"Now I play my third and final copy of Call of the Reaper! And I'll use it to destroy your Blockman!"

The Grim Reaper appeared behind Yugi's Blockman and slashed it with his scythe. Now Yugi was defenseless.

(Vlad: 2500)

"Now I activate the spell card River of Blood! This gives me an extra 1000 life points for every vampire on my side of the field!"

(Not a real card, but you probably guessed that)

(Vlad: 5500)

"Three turns have passed Yugi, so now your swords of light are extinguished... What's wrong now you look so sad… Losing your life doesn't feel that bad… Even if it does don't worry… your friends will soon join you."

Yugi was on his knees breathing heavily. The Curse of Nosferatu was draining him of every last drop of blood. He didn't know how he could possibly defeat Prince Vlad when he could barely see what he was doing. He was certain Atem would have found some way to defeat him by now… But Atem was gone.

"No… I can't give up… No matter how hopeless it looks I can't let this monster get the best of me… But he has a lot more life points then I do, and he has three vicious monsters in play where I have none! Nothing in my hand can help me… But it takes just one card to turn the tide."

Yugi drew his card.

"I play the spell card Magical Mallet! This… this let's me shuffle any cards in my hand that I don't want back into my deck and draw the same number of cards and add them to my hand."

Yugi drew his cards. He had drawn it… It was one of the cards that Pegasus had given him. It had a picture of an elaborate golden cross on it.

"I play Golden Cross of Divine Providence!"

(I don't have to tell you it isn't a real card do I?)

A huge Golden Cross emerged out of the ground. Prince Vlad hissed at the sight of it.

"Now not only can your vampire's not attack but… agh… all the spell and trap cards you have out are destroyed!"

"NO!!!"

All Prince Vlad's spell cards were destroyed including the Curse of Nosferatu, Yugi didn't get his blood back, but at least he had stopped the downpour of blood that came as a result of Blood Storm.

"And since your Vampire's Gaze is no longer in play I regain control of the two monsters you stole from me!"

Both Yugi's Mystical Elf and Magician's Valkyria were cured of their vampirism and returned to his side of the field.

"And since you no longer have Blood Storm and The Curse of Nosferatu in play… agh… you… ow… your doppelganger loses 1000 attack points!"

(ATK: 5900)

"It doesn't matter! With 5900 attack points I'm still more powerful then you!"

"Oh I'm not too worried about that… Thanks to my… ugh… Golden Cross of Divine Providence your doppelganger can't attack… And I've… agh… already figured out a way to destroy it… First I play Graceful Charity so that I can draw three cards so long as I discard two. Next I activate the effect of my Monster Reincarnation… By discarding one card from my hand I can take one card from my graveyard and return it to my hand… Now I reveal my face down card… Magical Dimension!"

"NO!!!"

"I use the power of my Magical Dimension to sacrifice my Mystical Elf and summon… agh… summon… oww… The Dark Magician Girl!"

(ATK: 2000 DEF: 1700)

The Dark Magician Girl was on the field. Yugi knew he couldn't fail now.

"And since the Dark Magician is in my graveyard The Dark Magician Girl gains 300 attack points!"

(ATK: 2300)

"Now I'll use the effect of my Magical Dimension to destroy your Prince Vlad doppelganger!"

Prince Vlad's doppelganger was blasted with a huge burst of magical energy. But through the smoke Yugi could hear the evil vampire laughing.

"What now?"

"You thought it was over mortal? Hardly…"

The smoke cleared revealing the most hideous monster Yugi had ever seen. It looked like a vicious cross between a human and a giant bat. The creature had a muscular body, two huge wings bursting out of its back, giant jagged claws, big pointy ears, dripping fangs and two burning red eyes.

"Holy crap! What the hell is that!?!"

"By destroying my doppelganger you've only made him stronger… Behold my mightiest monster! PRINCE VLAD EVIL INCARNATE!!!"

(ATK: 3000 DEF: 0)

Yugi had no choice but to end his turn. None of his monsters could stand up to that monstrosity.

"Now that it's my turn my Prince Vlad Evil Incarnate gains 1000 attack points!"

(ATK: 4000)

"It doesn't matter! Thanks to the Golden Cross of Divine Providence you still can't attack!"

"Well then I'll just have to destroy it won't I? I activate the spell card Mystical Space Typhoon, and I'll use it to destroy your precious cross!"

The Golden Cross of Divine Providence was sucked into the vortex.

"And since you love the Dark Magician Girl so much I think I'll destroy her first!"

"No!"

"Prince Vlad Evil Incarnate! Attack the Dark Magician Girl!"

Prince Vlad Evil Incarnate flew at the Dark Magician Girl, but Yugi's Magician's Valkyria intercepted the attack and was destroyed instead.

"What?! This can't be!"

"It seems you've forgotten Prince Vlad… When Magician's Valkyria is… ugh… on the field… agh… You can't attack any other spellcasters I have in play without… agh… destroying her first…"

"It doesn't matter! You'll still lose the rest of your life points!"

"I… don't… think so…"

"What!?!"

"Remember when I played Monster… Monster… Reincarnation… I used it to bring Kuriboh back to my hand. Which I'll use to… to… to… reduce… your monster's… the damage… I take to… ohhh… zero."

"Very well… So you've survived one more turn… I doesn't matter… It won't be long now…"

Yugi wasn't sure if Prince Vlad was referring to the fact that he had so few life points left, or the fact that he looked like he was about to pass out. He was already on the ground, barely supported by one trembling arm and pale as a ghost.

"It's… my… turn."

Yugi couldn't let Prince Vlad destroy the rest of his life points, or the Dark Magician Girl.

"I… lay… one card… face down."

"Good… Now it's my turn! So my Prince Vlad Evil Incarnate gains another 1000 attack points!"

(ATK: 5000)

"Now destroy the Dark Magician Girl and the rest of his life points!"

The Dark Magician Girl braced herself.

"Not so fast… I activate… Mirror Force…"

Prince Vlad Evil Incarnate's attack was reflected right back at it, but when the smoke cleared nothing had happened.

"Wha… What?"

"Sorry Yugi, but my Prince Vlad Evil Incarnate can't be destroyed by monster, spell, or trap effects… And something tells me you don't have a monster with over 5000 attack points in your deck."

"I don't believe this… He's… unstoppable."

"Precisely… And look at you… You have no cards in your hand and the only card you have in play is your precious Dark Magician Girl… And even if you switch it into defense mode I can use Prince Vlad's other effect to turn it into attack mode… Which means this duel is over no matter what card you draw."


	12. Hell on Earth!

Yugi was flat on the ground. He had been drained by the effect of the Curse of Nosferatu. The duel looked completely hopeless. It was over. Prince Vlad and his undead servants were right. Without Atem's help he was nothing.

"I… have failed."

"Master, it's not over yet!"

"Huh? Dark Magician Girl?"

The Dark Magician Girl was alive, and she was holding him in her arms.

"Master it takes only one card to turn the tide of a duel."

"There… there isn't a card in my deck that… that can stop that thing…"

"Yes, but you've never relied on the power of a single card before."

"I'm… I'm only allowed to draw one card per turn…"

"You just need to draw the right card master. There is still one card in your deck that can help you."

"The… The other card Pegasus gave me?"

"Yes."

"But… There are so many cards left in my deck… I'm not sure I can draw it…"

"Master, tell me why you're here."

"To save my friends and the world from a fate worse then death."

"Exactly. There is no greater love then to lay down one's life for a friend, let alone the whole world" she held his crucifix up to him "And that puts God on your side. And that's all you need. Now draw your card."

"I… I… don't think I can… I'm… too… weak…"

"Well I know how to fix that."

Then the unexpected happened… The Dark Magician Girl kissed him on the lips.

"Better?"

"My battery's all charged!" said Yugi blushing.

"Just draw your last pathetic card so I can end this duel Yugi! My bride is waiting…"

"My deck has no pathetic cards Vlad." said Yugi.

With a little help from the Dark Magician Girl Yugi drew his card. He could feel the power.

"This ends now!"

"What!?!"

"I activate the spell card Answered Prayer!"

**(Trust me, you wish this was a real card)**

The card had the image of a person kneeling before the resurrected Christ on it.

"Saint Francis of Assisi once said, Give and you shall receive… He was right… Because now for every 100 life points I give up I can take a card from my deck or graveyard and add it to my hand. And I think I'll take three cards!"

(Yugi: 100)

"Which three?"

"Here's the first! I play… Monster Reborn… And I'll use it… to resurrect… the Dark Magician!"

(ATK: 2500 DEF: 2100)

"Ooo… The big scary Dark Magician… Big deal."

"Oh it's a very big deal… Even if it costs my Dark Magician Girl those 300 extra attack points."

(ATK: 2000)

"Don't worry master, I didn't need those any way."

"Now I can play the spell card… Dedication through Light and Darkness! By sacrificing my Dark Magician I can now summon The Dark Magician of Chaos from my deck!"

(ATK: 2800 DEF: 2600)

When the Dark Magician of Chaos is summoned I'm allowed to bring one spell card back from my grave to my hand… And I choose… Monster Reborn! Which I will use to resurrect the Dark Magician again!"

(ATK: 2500 DEF: 2100)

"And now for the grand finale… I remove the Watapon… and the Kuriboh in my graveyard from play… so I can special summon… Black Luster Soldier Envoy of the Beginning!"

(ATK: 3000 DEF: 2500)

The Dark Magician Girl winked at him.

"A lot of good that move is going to do you Yugi… You may have gotten an army of monsters on your side of the field. But none of them has anywhere near enough attack points to destroy my Prince Vlad Evil Incarnate!"

"Who said anything about attacking him… I'm getting rid of him with my Black Luster Soldier Envoy of the Beginning's effect."

"But my monster can't be destroyed by monster effects!"

"I'm not destroying him… I'm removing him from play."

"What!?!"

Yugi's Black Luster Soldier Envoy of the Beginning slashed his sword so hard it cut open a vortex that sucked Prince Vlad Evil Incarnate inside.

"Now my magician's… ATTACK!!!"

All three of Yugi's magicians raised their staffs and blasted Prince Vlad."

"AAAAAAAAAAAGGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHH!"

(Vlad: 0)

Though the duel was over the Dark Magician Girl didn't vanish from Yugi's side.

"You did it master!"

"Ten chubby angels with big fat wings… too heavy to fly they… crash in the… thing."

Yugi was delusional from the massive blood loss. And now wasn't the best time. Prince Vlad rose from the ground.

"You have made me very angry… RRRRRRRRRAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARRRRRRRRRGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHH!!!"

Prince Vlad transformed into the exact likeness of his monster Prince Vlad Evil Incarnate. He roared in anger and started to advance on Yugi.

"Fresh… meat!"

The Dark Magician Girl raised her staff ready to defend Yugi when suddenly.

BANG!!!

"Get away from my best friend you blood sucking bastard!" yelled Joey.

Prince Vlad ignored the wound in his shoulder and advanced on Joey instead. Joey continued to fire until his G18 was out of ammo. Then he pulled out the AA-12 he had been carrying. Suddenly Serenity started to stir…

"Oh my… I had the craziest dream… I dreamt I was…"

Serenity noticed the horrific monster in front of her and screamed.

"Sis! Run!!!"

"Actually no one is going anywhere." said Vlad.

Suddenly a huge wall of fire erupted in front of the exits. Joey took the opportunity to start blasting.

BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG!

Joey had shot Prince Vlad so many times already, blood flowed from his wounds, but he still kept coming.

"Come here you son of a bitch!"

Prince Vlad roared in anger and started slashing at Joey with his claws. Duke, Tristan, Pegasus, and his men came running up the tunnels, but couldn't get past the wall of fire.

"Joey are you guys… HOLY SHIT!!!"

Joey kept firing away at Prince Vlad, then the vampire glided over and shoved him into the wall.

"I will drink you dry! And use your shirt as a dinner napkin!"

"Bite this!"

Joey pulled out the silver dagger he had been given and…

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHH!!!"

As Prince Vlad screamed in pain blood came gushing out of his mouth and all over Joey's face. He staggered backwards trying to pull the dagger out of his chest. Joey got back on his feet and pulled out the silver machete laced in garlic he had been given. But there was one problem.

"I can't see! The blood's in my eyes!"

"Use the force!" yelled Tristan.

Joey moved toward the sound of Prince Vlad's howling.

Whoosh… woosh… WHACK!!!

For a few minutes there was silence.

"Joey!"

Joey felt his sister rush up and hug him.

"Did I win?"

The wall of fire died down and the others came rushing through.

"Joey! You did it! You chopped his head off!"

"I did?"

Joey wiped the blood from his eyes as best he could and looked down at the slain vampire.

"Oh my… God! There's so much blood!"

"That's because he just ate." said Pegasus.

"He just… Yugi!"

They all rushed over to Yugi's side.

"Yug! Yugi talk to me man!"

Yugi's pulse was dropping and he was barely breathing, he was already as pale as a ghost and was getting cold.

"Come on! Say something! Yugi!!!"

**(To be concluded)**

**Is he alive or dead?**

**Find out in**

**Chapter 13: The Dawn**


	13. The Dawn

The last thing Yugi remembered was ordering his magician's to attack Prince Vlad's life points directly. He had no idea how much time had passed since then or where he was.

"Yugi… Yugi…"

"Uh… Pharaoh? Is that you?"

Atem nodded.

"Wait… then that means… Holy lord I'm dead!"

"No, you're not dead, you're just dreaming."

Yugi breathed a sigh of relief.

"Phew… but… What about the duel?"

"You passed out after you attacked Prince Vlad. You probably wouldn't have made it, but luckily I had someone keeping an eye on you."

"The Dark Magician Girl?"

"Yes. She also helped keep you alive while your friends got you the attention you needed."

"But if I was unconscious then who stopped Prince Vlad."

"You have Joey to thank for that. Because of his bravery and your own Prince Vlad is dead."

"So… All the vampires are…"

"Completely cured."

"I just realized something… I defeated an evil shadow duelist by myself… with a little help from the Dark Magician Girl I mean."

"I told you that you were strong enough to make it on your own Yugi. You've come a long way from being just the boy who assembled the Millennium Puzzle. Just remember that you and your friends share a bond so great that no one can break it."

"One more thing… Is it true what Pegasus said about you and the royal dancer?"

Atem laughed.

"Teana was… very beautiful. But just because I did something doesn't mean you can go ahead and do it."

"I know."

"Good, now wake up… wake up."

"He's waking up!"

Yugi awoke in a hospital bed, outside the sun was shining for the first time in days.

"Hi guys…"

Almost immediately Tea kissed him on the lips.

"Oh thank God you're okay!"

"Give him some room to breathe Tea."

"You really had me worried Yug. I thought you were long gone." said Joey.

"What did I miss?"

"Well, right after you passed out Joey rushed in and chopped Prince Vlad's head off." said Duke.

"We've already burned the body and his cursed cards." said Pegasus "Rest assured we won't be seeing him again."

"But how do we explain the missing people and everything else that went on down there."

"Don't worry, that's been taken care of."

He pointed to the TV. Bandit Keith had been blamed for the kidnappings of the innocent people, and his statements weren't helping.

"It was Vampires I tell ya! Vampires!!!"

Yugi would have to spend a few days recovering from his duel with Prince Vlad. Joey was glad to see that Mai had been cured of her affliction.

"Did you really shoot Kaiba?" she asked.

"I wasn't about to duel him knowing that my sister was in danger."

"Joey, I've been meaning to talk to you about that. I think you should find yourself a safe house or something and lay low for awhile, because when Kaiba gets out of his wheelchair he's probably going to try and kill you." said Tristan.

"Well I'm just glad this whole thing is over."

"Me too." said Serenity "I was starting to worry I'd never see Michael again."

"Who's Michael?" asked Joey.

"Oh my gosh, I forgot to tell you. All this blood sucking panic drove it out of my mind."

"What?"

"I've met someone."

"WHAT!?!" exclaimed Duke and Tristan.

**(The End)**


End file.
